Without You
by HeirToTheShadows
Summary: "What if I lived without you? What if I loved without you? What if I died- without you, I could not go on... Without you I'm no one, I'm nothing at all." Inspired by 'Without You' by Three Days Grace. Laxana, GaLe, LoLu, Jerza, FreMira, Elfgreen, Gruvia, NaLi, and Chendy. Finished: Laxus, Cana, Gajeel, Levy, Loke, Lucy, Jellal, Erza, Freed, Mirajane, Elfman
1. Chapter 1 Laxus

**A/N- I'M BACK, BABY! After being gone all of November, I have decided to do something to reward you all! **

**So welcome to day 1 of The Great Month of Stories! Something will be uploaded every single day this month, whether it is a chapter for an existing story, a oneshot, or a new story, doesn't matter. And feel free to join in and do this with me!**

**Disclaimer- As if I owned Fairy Tail. Hah!**

Laxus sat at Cana's side, clutching her hand.

"Please, Cana," he whispered brokenly, "Please wake up."

Five days ago had been Fairy Tail's S-Class exam. When he had heard his name get called, he'd been excited - that is, until Cana's name got called, too.

He had begged, prayed, done everything he could, hoping that he wouldn't have to fight her. She was his best friend - his _only_ friend. But, of course, he'd had to fight her. That was just his luck.

So, he'd fought her, doing his best to lose without making it look like he was trying. She knew. She was smart, witty. Which was why he loved her.

~L-loved her?~ he thought to himself in shock, ~I d-don't love her!~

She'd given him That look, the one that said she knew what he was doing, the one that said she didn't want him to go easy on her - that she didn't want his pity.

~But it wasn't pity,~ he thought, pushing her silky hair off of her damp brow, ~It was fear. Fear that you'd get hurt. I wouldn't have been able to stand it.~

He'd cast his lightning down, delighting in the feel of it. It was like being able to stand after having to sit for hours. But, unbeknownst to him, she had just cast one of her stronger cards. Metal Storm.

Of course, his lightning had hit the metal and just made everything worse.

~Oh, god,~ he released her hand and clutched the hair at his temples, ~How could I do this to her? It's my fault, all my fault!~

Cana had dropped to the ground, unmoving, and Laxus, no longer caring who won, ran to her side, "Cana? Cana!? CANA!?"

He'd shaken her, moved her, done every stupid thing he'd ever heard of for waking someone who gone unconscious, but none worked.

"Help!" he'd screamed in desperation, "Help!"

"Laxus-kun," he'd heard.

He had looked up and seen the First Master. She had smiled very gently.

"Laxus-kun," she'd said, the smile obviously one you give someone you're about to give bad news, "If you move her, she'll die. Even here, on Tenroujima, I won't be able to stop it."

"Please, Master Mavis," he had pleaded, "Tell me what to do."

She had simply smiled again, and whispered before disappearing, "Only you can save her, Laxus-kun. You'll figure it out."

So, Laxus had sat at her side since then, only leaving to use the bathroom.

When they hadn't returned to camp at the end of the first day since Mavis's appearance, the others had spent the second day looking for them. No one had found them until day three, and on day four, Gramps had decided to send Mirajane and Erza, who were shockingly cooperating, to get Porlyusica. Of course, he had tried to explain to them what the first master had said, but they just assumed it was heatstroke.

Each day, Cana's condition had gotten worse. Each day, she looked sicker. Today, day five since he'd hurt her, she looked nearly like a corpse. She was pale and sweaty, hair plastered to her face and neck. Her breath was labored, and her hands kept clenching and unclenching.

Gently, he picked her hand back up, "Cana, please. Please come back from wherever you are."

Cana's face and hands clenched again, but that was her only response.

Time continued to pass, and Cana's struggle to breathe grew more and more pronounced.

Once again, Laxus pushed her hair off of her forehead, "Come on, Cana. You can't leave me like everyone else."

Night fell, and Cana's unconscious body started to shiver. He lay next to her, and she rolled so that they were spooning. He held her close, simply holding her and sending her his strength. He didn't know what to do. No matter what he did, he couldn't get Cana to wake up...

_"Laxus! You're back!" Cana called waving at him excitedly before charging across the guild hall to wrap her thin arms around his waist, "I missed you."_

_He looked down, a small smile on his face, "I missed you, too, goofball."_

_Cana smiled, and held out her arms, silently asking to be picked up. Laxus complied with her wish, complaining teasingly the whole time, "You're nine, aren't you? Why do I have to pick you up?"_

_Cana laughed and stuck her tongue out at him "So I can do this," gently, she kissed his cheek, "Happy birthday, Laxus."_

_Quickly, Laxus counted days in his head, "Oh... you're right... it_ is_ my birthday."_

_Cana laughed, "Silly Laxus, of course it is! I got you a present!"_

_Laxus looked at her seriously, "You didn't have to do that, Cana."_

_Cana smiled happily, "I know. But I wanted to and Gramps said I could, and I showed him what I wanted to get you and he said it was a very good idea, and look Laxus!" Cana held out her bandaged hands with a smile._

_Laxus stilled, asking hesitantly, "Cana, what happened to your hands?"_

_She smiled, "I burned them when me and Lisanna made your cake!"_

_"Y-You made me a cake...?" he asked in near shock._

_Cana wiggled out of his arms, and then grabbed his hand, pulling him to where Lisanna was sitting, guarding the cake from the flying debris coming from where her sister was fighting Erza, "Course I did, silly head, I love ya!"_

_Laxus smiled, sitting down and opening the present Cana pressed into his hands, chanting, "Open it, open it, open it!"_

_He did, and out came a pair of brand new headphones, with long silver spikes. He looked at Cana in shock, "These headphones are 5000 jewels. How did you pay for them?"_

_"I-I used..." she blushed and looked imploringly at Lisanna, who nodded and walked away, "I used the birthday money Gildartz gave me."_

_Laxus's eyes shot wide, and he stared down at the headphones Cana had bought him in shock, "T-The money Gildartz gave you?"_

_Laxus knew that Cana hadn't wanted to take the money from Gildartz, but that her father had pressured her until she had taken it, saying it was for the birthday he had missed. She hadn't gotten to feel special long when he proceeded to give each of the children in the guild a matching amount. She had told him later that very day that she wanted to use the money to buy Gildartz something for _his_ upcoming birthday. She had saved it until then, and when he hadn't shown up, she'd spent three days in his room crying, before deciding to save it until he got back._

"_Yes," Cana said, crawling into his lap, "I didn't have any other money, and you weren't here to take me on a quest to get some. So I thought and thought and thought, and decided that you were more important. I can live without a father, but I can't live without my best friend."_

_Laxus hugged her tightly, squeezing his eyes against the tears that threatened to fall, "Thank you, Cana."_

"_No problem, silly Laxus," Cana said, hugging him back for a second before she pulled away with a smile, "Let's eat your cake now, can we!?"_

"_Sure," he smiled._

_It was probably the worst cake ever made, but Laxus made sure it was all eaten. Cana and Lisanna had each taken a bite of their pieces and instantly pushed them away. But Laxus ate his entire piece, and forced other members of the guild to eat the cake, too. _

_Because Laxus had just realized how important Cana was to him…_

Laxus opened his eyes with a snap, inhaling the comforting smell of Cana in his arms. But she didn't smell quite right. Mixed in with her beautiful scent was the scent of sickness and death.

She was dying. And there was nothing he could do about it.

In desperation, Laxus tore himself from Cana's side and went looking for the First Master.

"Master Mavis!" he screamed, running blindly through the forest. In the distance, he heard the crash of thunder, and saw the flash of bright light that signified lightning, "MASTER!"

He burst into a clearing, and saw the First Master sitting on a rock, kicking her feet over a pond.

"Master," Laxus called, falling to his knees, "Please…"

The First Master looked over at him, sparkles in her eyes, "Did you save her… oh."

"I… don't know what to do…" he whispered quietly, staring at the ground, sounding childlike in his own ears, "What do I do…?"

He felt the Mavis's cold hand pull his face up to look at her. He looked into her eyes, "I want to help you, Laxus-kun, but I can't."

He stared down at the ground, "Then she'll die."

Mavis pulled his face up again, "All I can give you is this one question: why do you want to save her?"

~Why… do I want to save her…?~ Laxus thought to himself. He looked up, "But Master, how will-"

Master Mavis was gone.

~Why do I want to save her… she's my nakama, but I don't think I would feel this strongly if it was someone else. She's my best friend. Could that be it? No one has ever loved me as unconditionally as she does. No… what I feel for her is more then friendship. Do I… love her?~ Laxus's eyes widened, ~I love her…~ Somehow, that thought felt so right, and something Laxus had only felt during extremely dangerous fights was felt. His inner dragon.

"I… I love her," Laxus said, eyes going even wider.

He felt a cracking within himself, and suddenly, with a flash of pain, he felt his magic power level grow, grow, grow, until it was more then double what it was before.

Thunder rumbled again, and Laxus snapped out of his daze.

"Cana," he said, standing up, and thundering through the woods heedlessly.

As he ran, the rain that had been threatening finally began to fall, heavily. He continued to run, even as the dirt turned to mud beneath his feet.

Suddenly he slipped in the mud, and tripped over a root as he tried to keep his balance. With a painful tumble, he fell down the hill, hitting a tree with face-cracking force.

Once his spinning head allowed him to move, he crawled away from the tree, keeping his blood-filled right eye shut. Lightning flashed again, and he saw Cana, lying on the ground, shivering.

"Cana," he said, and he crawled carefully across the ground towards her.

Her breath was coming in shuddering gasps, and Laxus knew she was nearing the end of how long she could cling to life. He finally realized what the clenches had been: her literally fighting to stay alive.

"Cana," he said into her ear, struggling to be heard above the storm, "I love you."

Her breath continued to creak in and out of her cracked lips. No change.

"You hear me, Cana!? I love you, and you're gonna get your little ass back here so that I can love you for real!"

No change.

Laxus felt tears start falling from his eyes. With gentle fingers, he moved her face and pressed his lips to hers for the first – and last – kiss he would ever have from the girl he loved.

He pressed his forehead to hers, and whispered, "I'm sorry."

At the same moment, a tear from his left eye and a drop of blood from his left fell, and landed on Cana's face.

"_With love… blood… and tears…"_ Master Mavis's voice echoed throughout the little area where Laxus and Cana were.

Cana coughed, "L-Laxus? Why are you sorry?"

Laxus opened his eyes to see Cana's purple-blue eyes staring back at him, "C-C-Cana…?"

Cana smiled up at him, "Duh."

"For hurting you," Laxus said, answering her earlier question while he crushed her to him in a hug, "Because I just can't live without you…"


	2. Chapter 2 Cana

**A/N- Here we are with Cana's chapter!**

**This was supposed to be out yesterday, but two solid days of migraines will ruin even the best of plans…**

**Disclaimer- If I was Hiro Mashima, all of the pairings in this fic would be canon. End of story.**

Cana sat in shock. ~He... He... He... Betrayed me? W... Why...? Why did he...?~

She shuddered slightly as she pulled on her capris and changed into her normal bikini.

~How could he? I know we've been growing apart, but I... I need him. He's my... my best friend. How could he stand... How could he Do this!?~

Slowly, Cana got more and more worked up, her shock wearing off into anger, her feelings of betrayal turning to desperation. She Really wanted to kick his ass. Bad.

As she finished changing, she walked out from behind the curtain on the stage and day down, accepting the barrel of beer Mirajane handed her. "Thanks," she sighed.

"What, exactly, happened?" Levy asked, "You told us that Laxus attacked the guild, but what did he do?"

Cana looked up hopefully, ~Maybe there's an explanation. Maybe he didn't betray m- us...~

"He started 'The Battle of Fairy Tail', as he likes to call it. He wants to be Master," Master Makarov said, anger emanating from him, "So he decided to have Evergreen take all the girls participating in the Miss Fairy Tail pageant hostage by turning you to stone. He said you would all turn to sand if we didn't participate. Everyone charged off to fight him, but nobody knows where he is. All we know is that he's somewhere in Magnolia. There are traps all over the city, and guild members have been fighting each other."

Cana stared down at her barrel with wide eyes, ~He... He took us hostage? I know him the best. Why didn't I see this coming? Why couldn't I see that he had this in him?!~

"Battle of Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked, her shock apparent in her voice.

Cana looked up, barely able to hide the betrayal she felt, "Laxus did all that?"

"But it's all over now," the Master said, taking a deep breath, and calming slightly, "With you back to normal, there's no need to play Laxus's stupid game anymore."

"But what about everyone who was hurt because of Freed's traps?" Mira asked, concern shining from her face.

~How does she do it?~ Cana thought with bitter jealousy, ~Her brother nearly got killed by Evergreen, and she's not angry?~

"Yeah!" Bisca spat angrily, "Laxus will never learn until we teach him a lesson!"

"I realize that!" the Master yelled, "I will personally give him punishment of the highest grade later!"

~Is he... Is he going to excommunicate him?~ Cana thought as a feeling of lonely emptiness overwhelmed her, ~Laxus is leaving? My Laxus...? I don't want him to...~

The conversation continued around her, but Cana argued with herself instead of paying attention.

~Why!? It's not like he cares! He left you years ago! He doesn't love you anymore!~ Cana yelled at herself. She noticed Mirajane, the only one who had ever figured out that Cana and Laxus had been together, staring at her with concern.

~No, Mira, save your concern for someone who deserves it,~ Cana thought. Hiding her emotions behind her usual facade, she jumped right into the conversation she'd been vaguely following.

"If you really insist, then I'm not against taking you on," Cana said to Natsu with a smirk.

"Cana," Bisca moaned half-heartedly, "Don't encourage him."

Satisfied that she'd tricked Mirajane into thinking she was okay, she went back to her own thoughts...

_"Laxus! Laxus!" Cana chanted in excitement, "Guess what, guess what!"_

_Laxus set down his bag before turning to her, "What?"_

_Cana jumped in excitement, "I turned thirteen while you were gone!"_

_Laxus smiled, "I know. I got you something."_

_She gasped happily, "You Did!? What is it!?"_

_"Hold out your hands," he said, "And close your eyes."_

_Doing exactly what he said, she wiggled in excitement, "Can I open them yet?"_

_"No," Laxus laughed, "Not yet."_

_She felt him place two heavy somethings in her hands before saying, "Now you can."_

_Cana opened her eyes and stared at the things in her hands in confusion, "What are they?"_

_They looked like silver and blue bracelets, except they were too tall and too wide. Despite that, she thought they were very pretty._

_Laxus picked one up and slipped it over her hand, up to her upper arm, "They're arm bands. I thought you would like them, so I got them for you. I made sure to get the magical ones that change sizes, too, so that they'll never get to small."_

_Cana gasped, and stared at the one he'd put on her right arm as he put the other one on her left._

_She looked up, happy tears in her eyes, "Thank you, Laxus."_

_"Why are you crying!?" Laxus said, shock on his face._

_Cana wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest, "I love them. I'll wear them forever."_

_Laxus coughed in embarrassment, "Well, you don't have to go That far..."_

_Cana smiled, "But I want to."_

_"Well okay then," Laxus said. He picked up his bag and gently tugged her arms off of him, "Want to come with me? I have to go put my things in my apartment."_

_"Okay," she said happily._

_They walked quietly back to Laxus's apartment, Cana thoughtfully stroking her new armbands._

_"Hey Laxus?" Cana said thoughtfully._

_"Yeah?" Laxus asked looking at her._

_She looked up at him, "Why do you always bring me gifts when you come back from quests? I'm the only one."_

_Laxus looked confused for a moment before shrugging, "I don't know. I guess I just see things and think you'd like them."_

_"But why?" Cana pressed._

_"I guess..." Laxus said, "I guess because I care about you."_

_Cana smiled and grabbed his hand. "Hey Laxus?" she asked again._

_"Yeah?" Laxus asked, looking at her with another smile._

_"When we grow up," Cana said, a look of complete seriousness on her face, "Can we get married?"_

_For a second, a look of shock crossed Laxus's face, followed by a cynical smile, "If you still want to when you grow up, then yes, I'll marry you."_

_Cana smiled broadly, "Why wouldn't I? I love you, silly head."_

"Can you hear me, old man?" Laxus's voice interrupted her sweet memory. She looked up, hoping against hope that Laxus was giving up. Hoping that Laxus was talking in order to tell them he was done, that he was sorry, "And all you other guild people?"

~He's got something up his sleeve,~ Cana thought, her anger returning, ~He's going to do something to make us keep fighting.~

"One of the rules has gone out the window, so I'm adding a new one," Laxus continued, and Cana nodded cynically to herself, "I've activated the Thunder Palace in order to keep the Battle of Fairy Tail underway."

"The Thunder Palace!?" the Master screamed, obviously recognizing what Laxus had done, and not liking it.

Cana, like everyone else, had no idea what Laxus had done.

"You have an hour and ten minutes," Laxus stated, "Do you have what it takes to beat us? Or will you give up instead, Master?" With that, Laxus stopped talking.

"What are you thinking, Laxus!?" Master screamed to the heedless sky, "Are you trying to drag innocent bystanders into this as well!?"

Suddenly, the Master gasped and fell to the floor.

"Master!" Cana shrieked.

"Gramps!" Natsu yelled.

There was a chorus of screams from the other members, and Mira ran off for the Master's medicine.

"What's this Thunder Palace?" Natsu asked angrily, "Gramps?"

"Everyone!" Mira yelled from the stairs, running down them with the Master's medicine, "Look outside!"

The remaining guild members ran for the stairs, making sure not to get in Mira's way as she ran to the Master.

They quickly ran onto the balcony to find the sky filled with lacrimas.

"What are those?" Natsu asked.

"Lightning lacrimas...?" Levy said, confusion apparent in her voice.

Bisca looked around and asked, "What are they doing up there?"

"They're floating all over the city..." Lucy said after glancing around.

"An incredible amount of powerful lightning magic is stored inside each of those lacrimas... could this be what he means?" Cana said slowly, puzzling it out.

~Thunder Palace... Tons of powerful lightning lacrima... You get thunder when...!~ in shock, Cana realized what Laxus was going to do.

"Is this what the Thunder Palace refers to?" Juvia asked.

"He's making Magnolia resemble one..." Cana said, her rage starting to become palpable.

Lucy gasped, "Wait, what if one of those discharges!?"

"Countless lightning bolts will rain down on the city," Cana spat out angrily.

Bisca's eyes narrowed, "I won't let that happen! Sniper rifle requip!"

Cana glanced at Bisca with a shimmer of hope. Maybe if Bisca could destroy the lacrimas, they would have time to find Laxus...

"Target locked on," Bisca said, "Stinger Shot!"

Everyone watched as Bisca's shot hit the lacrima, causing it to explode. Cana smiled.

"All right!" Natsu yelled.

"Way to go, Bisca!" Cana cheered.

Bisca smirked, "I'll take care of all these-" Bisca's eyes widened, and she shrieked in agony.

"Bisca!" Cana shrieked.

Everyone once again chorused yells and screams as one of their nakama fell.

~How? Is it... No. Even Laxus wouldn't be that cruel...~ Cana thought, until she realized, ~Maybe my Laxus wouldn't... But this Laxus would.~

"What the..." Lucy said, "What's going on?"

"Body Link Magic," Cana said.

"Body Link Magic?" Lucy asked.

Cana stated with pure rage, "There's a spell on those lacrimas that links the damage they receive to whoever causes the damage. In short, if you attack them, the same among of damage will be directed back at you."

"Oh no!" Levy gasped, "If we don't do something, the townspeople will be...!"

"We'll have to take down Laxus!" Cana yelled, "Let's go!"

"I'll try to evacuate as many townspeople as I can!" Lucy yelled, running off.

"I'll come with you!" Happy said, following after her.

"There are still two Raijinshuu members out there!" Cana yelled after them, "Be careful!"

Cana squared her shoulders and ran off to find Laxus, her ex-boyfriend, and heard footsteps behind her on the stairs. A single glance behind her told her it was Juvia.

Cana and Juvia ran out into the streets, instantly turning left to search for Laxus. They ran for a while, making – while not random turns – turns that barely made sense.

"Cana?" Juvia eventually called out hesitantly.

"Yeah, Juvia?" Cana replied.

"Juvia knows that everyone else is angry, and she's not saying that you don't have the right to be angry," Juvia started, still hesitant, "But Juvia noticed that you are the angriest. Were you and Laxus close?"

Cana laughed bitterly, stopping where she was in the middle of the street, "He used to be my boyfriend. I just can't believe he had this in him."

Juvia stopped running as well, "Juvia is sorry, Cana. But… you seemed really betrayed. If you two weren't together anymore, why did you look like someone had just told you that the sun rose in the west?"

Cana thought about Juvia's question for a moment, ~Why _did_ I feel like that? We haven't been together for almost a year. So why did I feel like someone had just ripped the ground out from under me? Why did I feel like Laxus had betrayed me personally, as opposed to the entire guild?~

Cana's eyes widened, and tears filled them, ~I still… I can't believe I…~

Cana looked Juvia straight in the eyes, sobs shaking her entire frame, "I still love him. I felt that betrayed because no matter how hard I try, without him, I feel like I'm nothing."


	3. Chapter 3 Gajeel

**A/N- Ah, here we are with Gajeel's point of view. This chapter was a pain in my ass, let me just tell you that. I had to look up the actual dialogue for this, but the chapter makes it worth it. **

**See you Thursday for Levy's chapter!**

**Disclaimer- As if. **

Gajeel stomped through the underbrush, following Levy, "What's the deal with this exam!? Pick a path, find a grave!?"

He saw Levy put her hands over her ears and mumble quietly, "Ahh. So noisy."

It was quite obvious to Gajeel that Levy was trying to figure out where the grave was, and he decided he'd be quiet, but he couldn't stop himself from saying slightly poutily, "I just want to punch Salamander and Erza."

Abruptly, Levy stopped walking and turned to shoot a glare at him.

~If looks could kill...~ he thought to himself.

"So you don't care about me!?" Levy half screamed.

"What!?" Gajeel replied, jaw dropping, "I'm not saying that!"

"But you always fight with everyone, Gajeel," she said, tears starting to gather in her eyes.

~W-Why is she crying?~ Gajeel thought desperately, ~How do I make her stop!?~

She looked down at the ground, "You never look at me..."

Gajeel sighed in relief. He could fix this. Doing his best to be comforting, he smiled and patted her head, "You want some attention, Shrimp? Then fight seriously with me! Get stronger!"

His words, however, had the opposite effect.

Levy's tears started to fall, and her face scrunched up in anger, "No. I can't. I'm weak, and small..."

She looked up at him, and she instantly went from slightly angry to murderous, "I don't care anymore! Stupid Gajeel!" With that, she ran off.

"What did you say!?" Gajeel yelled angrily. Instantly, he regretted it. With a sigh, Gajeel slowly started to follow the path Levy had made as she ran away from him.

~What did I even say to set her off like that? It's not like I said anything offensive. I just told her to get stronger,~ he said, kicking a tree, ~That's exactly what she's been trying to do, anyway! So how come when I say it, it's suddenly offensive enough to cause her to yell at me and run away? Sometimes, I really don't understand her…~

Gajeel was getting close to where Levy was. He could smell her. She smelled nice, like always, but something was wrong. Something reminded him off something bad…

_A small frame, stapled to a tree at night. The air reeked of tears, blood, and fear._

_Gajeel cackled, walking closer to the small blue haired girl he'd beaten, "Say my name, little blue fairy."_

_The girl looked up, tears streaking down her face, "Why?"_

_He punched her in the stomach, and the girl coughed, a mixture of blood and phlegm shooting out._

"_That's not my name, little blue fairy," Gajeel cackled again, "Try it again. Say it with me. Gaaaajeeeeeeel. Come on, say it!"_

"_Ga-" the girl coughed more blood, "Gajeel."_

_Gajeel punched the girl again, "Good job! Now this time, I want you to scream it for me. Can you do that, little blue fairy?"_

_The girl threw up down her shirt, "Why are you doing-"_

_He slapped the girl across the face, hard enough that her head cracked around and hit the tree she was tied to._

"_That's not my name, little blue fairy," Gajeel tsked, "But don't worry. I'll help you."_

_Gajeel ripped off the blue haired girl's over shirt, exposing her pale, lean stomach._

_He ran an admiring hand down her stomach, and she shuddered in fear, "Look at all that unmarred flesh. Wouldn't it be a shame if someone branded something right _here_?"_

_He pressed his hand down right above her belly button, and showed her his other hand, the hand he had just changed to be the same shape as the Phantom Lord guild mark._

"_No! Please! I'll do anything, just please don't," she screamed, tears running down her face._

_Gajeel looked at the brand, and saw that it was hot enough to burn the shape into the girl's stomach. He looked back at her, a sadistic smirk on his face, "Then scream my name."_

"_GAJEEL!" the blue haired fairy screamed in pure terror._

_He soaked in the sound, loving the feel of her fright, "Again, little blue fairy. Do it again."_

"_GAJEEL!" she shrieked, louder this time._

_Gajeel cocked his head to the side, "Sorry, little blue fairy, but you're not scared enough. I guess I have to." He pouted, "Poor you."_

"_NO! NO!" she yelled, voice rising in panic. The red hot brand pressed into the pale, silky flesh of her stomach, **"GAJEEL!"**_

Gajeel's eyes widened as he snapped back to reality, and he ran toward her, anger giving him the energy to run faster then he ever had before, ~It smells of _her _blood,_ her _tears,_ her _fear. Someone is hurting her.~

He burst into the clearing that Levy's scent was emanating from, and with the split second he had, saw a sword heading for Levy's frail body. Without thought, he interposed himself between the sword and Levy.

"It's hard looking for someone so small," Gajeel said. He glanced at Levy's hurt face out of the corner of his eye before turning back to the enemy who had dared attack her, "So don't leave my side."

He glanced at the two attackers. One was a large, chicken-like man, and the other was a large, brown, dog-like man. "Who are you guys?" he asked as he felt Levy stand up and press her back to his.

The dog-man replied, "Grimore Heart."

Levy gasped, "A dark guild! How did they get on the island!?"

Trusting Levy to keep her eyes on the chicken-man, he continued to stare at the dog-man, "Did the Master set them up for the exam?"

"Of course not!" Levy yelled. Gajeel could feel her outrage, causing a smirk to appear on his face, "These guys… they must have snuck in from somewhere."

"Well, accidents always accompany work," Gajeel stated matter of factly, trying to see if she was okay without making it obvious, "And if it concerns S-Class mages, that's all the more true. If I can't clean up an accident this small, I guess I don't have what it takes to be an S-Class mage anyway."

"But… this is Grimore Heart we're talking about!" Levy said forcefully, "One corner of the Baram Alliance. We shouldn't attack them so arbitrarily."

"As expected from a normal guild," the dog-man said, "Rules, rules, rules. So suffocating."

"Rules don't exist in war-peron," Gajeel heard the chicken-man say.

"War," Gajeel half questioned, half stated.

"What is your goal!?" Levy yelled out, confidence in her tone. Gajeel instantly felt pride for her, because unless he had felt the trembling she was trying so hard to hide, he never would have known how nervous she was.

~That's my woman for you…~ Gajeel thought to himself, ~Wait! What!? What do I mean, 'my woman'!?~

The dog-man smirked, then screamed out, "To poach all the fairies on this island!"

The dog-man drew his sword, and screamed out a word Gajeel had never heard. Gajeel had time to blink once before, suddenly, a noise of ridiculously high pitch, and ridiculously loud filled his world.

With a groan of pain, he covered his ears, seeing Levy do the same, shrieking, "My ears!"

He looked back at the dog-man, finally noticing the kanji floating there. "Magic from words… it's the same magic as yours!" he yelled to Levy, barely able to be heard over the horrific noise.

He saw Levy glance over his shoulder. "That's Solid Script from the Orient!" he heard her scream.

The dog-man, with a look of annoyance at their ability to still communicate with each other, doubled the level of sound coming from the kanji.

Gajeel couldn't hear anything, and the level of sound nearly knocked him to his knees. His head felt like someone was trying to smash it open with a brick, and he thought he was going to black out from the terrible sound.

~Stop…~ he begged mentally, ~Just make it stop…~

Suddenly, he felt two small, warm hands grab his shirt and pull him to the side, knocking him off his feet. He landed in a crouch, and saw that Levy had pulled him out of the way of an attack from the chicken-man. The noise continued as the chicken-man attacked again.

~Damn it!~ Gajeel though furiously, looking around desperately for either of their enemies, ~Because of this noise, I can't even hear footsteps.~

The word **SILENCE **appeared before him, and suddenly, Gajeel could hear the wind moving through the trees, Levy's heavy breathing…

"The sound went back to normal…" he said, listening intently.

From the left, he heard the dog-man yell out, "You cancelled out my word!?"

"I heard that!" Gajeel yelled, spinning to his left. He spotted the dog-man, "There you are!"

He shot his iron pole at the man, who flew back and hit a tree.

The fight continued, Levy taking care of the chicken-man, and Gajeel fighting the dog-man. The dog-man landed another hit, and Gajeel looked down at his arm in near shock, ~He's breaking right through my iron scales…!~

The dog-man smiled, "Dark Sword…"

Gajeel heard Levy's gasp, "N-No!"

"NARUKAMI!"

The dog-man's attack hit Gajeel, and with a horrible noise, Gajeel fell to the ground.

"GAJEEL!" he heard, "GAJEEL!"

~No, Levy… don't waste your life on me…~ Gajeel thought, unable to work up any real emotion, his mind still in shock from the strength of the hit, ~Save yourself…~

"If this is the level they're all at," the dog-man said, causing Gajeel to start paying attention, "Then we can probably take care of them before the main squadron even arrives."

"Peron!" replied the chicken-man with a nod.

"Did you say… main… squad…?" Gajeel forced out, struggling past his lethargy to get up.

"Looks like he's still breathing-peron!" the chicken-man said with excitement.

"I'm talking about our guild," the dog-man replied, a smirk gracing his face, "The entire Grimore Heart guild."

Levy gasped again, "Th-That's-"

~I have to get her away from here…~ Gajeel thought, ~I can't attack at full strength if she's here… she might get hurt.~

"Levy, run," Gajeel said, using her name to show her how important the situation was.

"EH!?" Levy yelled.

"This isn't some mundane war," Gajeel said, starting to stand. As he rose to his full height, he glanced at her, "This is going to escalate beyond our wildest imaginings."

"But… I…" Levy said. It was obvious to Gajeel that she was stalling, trying to think of a way to stay here, with him, and help him defeat the Grimore Heart members.

"You need to let everyone know about this as soon as possible!" Gajeel yelled at her, "I can take care of these guys by myself easily!"

He saw tears fill Levy's eyes, before she nodded once and started running as fast as she could.

"Don't let her escape!" the dog-man yelled to the chicken-man.

Gajeel attacked the members of the opposing guild, doing his best to buy Levy enough time to get away from the clearing so that he could unleash his Iron Dragon Roar. The dog-man threw another attack, hitting Gajeel hard. So hard, that he hit the ground, spat blood, and was unable to stand.

"GAJEEL!" he heard Levy's frightened shriek.

"What are you doing!?" Gajeel yelled back, looking at her over his shoulder, "Hurry up and go!"

He saw Levy take a deep breath, and suddenly, a heavy weight hit him in the head. It promptly fell off, and Gajeel stared at it, eyes wide.

~Iron…?~ he thought to himself, staring at it, ~And is that a…!~ Quickly, he ate the iron.

"Please!" he heard Levy's tearful voice as she ran away from him, "Don't die!"

"Yeah," he said, finishing her gift for him. Instantly, he started to stand up.

"Hey!" the dog-man shouted, "You just let that girl get away!"

"Who cares?" the chicken-man asked arrogantly, "It just makes the hunting more fun-peron!"

"You want a full scale war with Fairy Tail," Gajeel panted, levering himself up.

"He… He's standing!" the dog-man screamed.

Gajeel stood fully, glaring at the two men, "This reminds me… of that time…"

"_I bet you regret messing with Fairy Tail now!" _Natsu's voice echoed in Gajeel's head.

He smirked sadistically, "I'm gonna make you feel the same."

Because they had dared to mess with Levy McGarden, the one thing that made Gajeel worth while.


	4. Chapter 4 Levy

**A/N- This chapter is slightly shorter then the others. It's just… really _hard _to write angst-y Levy. She's such a happy and cheerful character… but everybody goes through their down moments, and like all the other chapters, this one focuses on one of them.**

**So, this is the very first chapter that I felt _really, really _nervous about the character seeming Out Of Character, but as I said to someone, they've been pushed to far out of their comfort zones, and they aren't sure if they can deal anymore… **

**But I hope you like this chapter! Saturday will be Loke's chapter. Oh god, I _really _enjoyed that chapter!**

**Disclaimer- Yeah, so… I don't own Fairy Tail. Or Bleach. Or Ouran High School Host Club. Or really any semi-popular anime… **

**Levy** sat at Gajeel's bedside, awkwardly holding his hand, "I don't really know how to go about this..."

She sighed, and continued talking to the unconscious Gajeel, "But Mirajane said that the best way to go about this is to speak my thoughts aloud to you, and that way we'll both k-know h-how I-I f-feel."

Levy laughed bitterly at herself, "But this is the closest I could get. Pathetic, huh?"

"But where's the best place to start?" Levy asked herself, before sighing again, "The beginning, I guess..."

Levy released his hand and walked over to the window in the infirmary, "The very first time I met you, I thought you were interesting. The way your hair blew in the wind that night... The way your piercings gleamed... Your bright red eyes. You were so excited. I wanted to know what about. I wanted to be a part of it. And then I was. And I regretted it. I regretted my desire to become a part of whatever had made you smile so happily."

Levy sighed again, and leaned against the window sill, "After... After that night... I was scared of you. You Frightened me. I was so scared that you would hurt me again. I was so scared that you would find me, and staple me to another tree. That you would decide that Fairy Tail needed more Initiative, and then you would come after me again, and hurt me even worse."

She turned and looked into the room, staring at his face, relaxed into a gentle expression with unconsciousness, "Wounds heal, though. My memories of that night... they faded away, they became less clear. And my nightmares of that night... they, too, slowly started to fade."

Levy took a half-step closer to Gajeel, hesitated, then walked over with more confidence. Gently, she sat next to him, pushing his hair out of his eyes. She sighed again, and fisted her hands in the hem of her orange dress, "I was almost fine again... I had almost rebuilt myself, just like the other members of the guild had almost finished rebuilding the guild hall. And then... Master Makarov let you join the guild."

"At first, I had no idea how to react, you know?" Levy looked away from Gajeel's face and sat, staring at the plain walls, "I guess you don't. You're so... confident... and strong... and brave. You probably always know what to do."

Levy sniffled, shocked to feel tears gathering in her eyes, "Anyway, when you joined, I didn't know how to react. Was I supposed to act friendly? Was I supposed to avoid you at all times? Or was I supposed to pretend like I never noticed you, pretend that you didn't exist?"

Levy forced herself to release her dress's hem, consciously smoothing it, "I had no idea how to do it. I didn't know how to treat you. And every time I saw you, my stomach would clench with nausea and pain, and the scar from your brand would burn all over again."

"But..." Levy paused and glanced at Gajeel to make sure he was still unconscious before continuing, "Every time _you_ looked at _me_... It was a whole different feeling. Sure, my stomach would clench, but it was because of the 'butterflies'."

Levy laughed again, "Who came up with that, anyway? It definitely doesn't feel like butterflies. Maybe a herd of elephants... or an entire zoo."

Levy sighed and continued, "You... you were the first person in a while to make me feel like that. I wasn't sure how to react to that, either... I mean, you had hurt me... so badly... I was still healing. But... No matter how hard I tried... I couldn't get you out of my head."

"And... admittedly... I wasn't sure I wanted too..." Levy sighed again. She stood and walked back to the window, "That's when Jet and Droy attacked you. I may not have understood my feelings, but I knew I didn't want them to hurt you."

Once more, Levy sighed, "I didn't want you to hurt them, either. But when you didn't fight back... I was confused. You were definitely stronger then them. So why were you just standing there and letting them attack you?"

She placed her elbows on the window sill, and rested her head on her hands, "I only figured out what you were doing when Laxus attacked you. When you let Laxus hit you, over and over, I realized you were trying to earn our forgiveness."

Levy smiled a small, gentle smile, "I was so happy. Since you were trying to earn our forgiveness, that meant you _wanted_ us to forgive you. You _wanted_ to be accepted. So I did."

Levy turned and walked back to him, smile fading away to nothing. "Laxus started the Battle of Fairy Tail, then. When I finally got to be involved... So many had already fallen. It was only us Miss Fairy Tail participants, Natsu, and you who were left. Master... Even Master fell when Laxus initiated the Thunder Palace," Levy said sadly, "The other girls ran off to fight, but I... I couldn't. Not only because I was scared of Laxus, but because you were still trapped inside the guild hall. Natsu was more obvious about the fact that he desperately wanted out, but I could tell... You were itching to fight, too."

Levy sat on one of the neighboring beds, and pulled her knees to her chest, "The fact that you wanted out so badly made me _want_ to help you. So, I decided to let you out."

_"What is that bastard thinking!?" Natsu yelled, jumping over the railing._

_"Natsu!" Levy yelled, concerned. Her head was filled with images of Natsu falling and getting hurt._

_"Hey!" yelled Gajeel._

_Natsu rammed into the rune wall set up there and started banging his head against it._

_"You've gone too far! If you wanna be Master that bad then just fight Gramps!" Natsu yelled banging his head against the rune wall faster, "I've had enough of your crap, Laxus!"_

_Levy bit her lip, glancing at Gajeel. He was being a lot quieter then Natsu, but Levy could see that he too wanted to get outside of the guild hall, that he too wanted to go and fight Laxus._

_~Maybe I can rewrite it... It is an enchantment, after all...~_

_She glanced once more at the helpless dragon slayers and decided. "Natsu! Calm down!" she yelled._

_"I can't!" he yelled back, shoving his face into the rune wall in an attempt to break through._

_"Just listen!" she yelled._

_"Damn!" Natsu screamed, "There's an invisible wall here, too!"_

_"It's an enchantment!" Lucy said, exasperated._

_"We already know," Gajeel replied._

_"It's a type of Script Magic!" Levy screamed. As Gajeel continued to stare blankly at her and Natsu continued to bang his head against the wall, she continued, "I might be able to do something!"_

_"What?" Gajeel asked, shock on his face._

_"Really, Levy!?" Natsu said, excitement emanating from his body._

_Levy nodded, "I have faith that you guys can stop Laxus."_

_The three of them hurried down the stairs, and Levy grabbed her things, quickly getting set up on the floor - the only place with enough room._

_Slowly, she puzzled through Freed's enchantment, not aware that she was speaking out loud._

_Suddenly, she heard Gajeel say, "You're really something. I don't understand a thing you're saying."_

_Levy blushed slightly, a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. She smiled, and suddenly realized, "Ah! No! The L and S are bluffs! The key code is 'Arth'!"_

_Gajeel blinked, obviously not understanding what she meant, "Uh, yeah..."_

_Levy turned back to her work, and they sat there in relative silence - if it could ever be silent with Natsu around. Slowly, Levy could feel the agitation in Gajeel growing._

_"Don't worry," she said, still concentrating on her work, "I will get you out of here."_

_"It's no big deal to me," Gajeel replied, but Levy could tell that he was lying._

_"Please," she said quietly to the two dragon slayers, but mostly, it was directed at Gajeel, "Stop Laxus."_

_Vaguely, she heard Natsu say, "I'm itching to fight," but she was really concentrating on the fact that when Gajeel had nodded at her request, he had smiled at her very, very sweetly..._

Levy carefully stood from the bed and crossed the two steps to Gajeel's bedside. Gently, she sat down, hoping to not wake the slowly stirring Gajeel.

She slowly pushed Gajeel's hair off of his face, absent mindedly wondering, ~If I have him a headband, would he wear it?~

She continued to stare at his face, and she hesitantly touched his piercings, like she had been longing too ever since she met him again.

Still touching his face, she sighed, "I guess I wanted to help you because you matter to me. You... You were my nakama, but... I would have been able to bear leaving Natsu trapped, but you? You I _had_ to free."

As the epiphany of her feelings came to her, Levy let out a strangled, little sob. "Oh god, why you?" Levy asked herself, still touching his face, since she was unable to stop, "Why did it have to be you?"

Levy blinked away some tears, and wiped the few that had fallen. She sighed and continued, "I had to let you out, because the thought of you being in pain, or being unhappy, made me ache. Because..."

Here she paused, not sure if she could finish. She bent at the waist, and gently pressed her lips to his forehead.

She stood and walked to the door, grabbed the handle and paused. Without looking back, she let out another strangled sob, "I couldn't just leave you there because I'm in love with you."

Another sob, "And I'm in love with you because without you, my life is a dull facade. Even when you were hurting me, you saw the things that _really_ hurt me. You're the only one who sees me, and not the smile."

With that final thought, Levy wiped her tears, plastered on a bright, cheerful grin, and walked out of the infirmary.


	5. Chapter 5 Loke

**A/N- Oh, I really love this one. This one is the setup for a future story, lol, but you both this chapter and the story can be read without the other. Oh god, I love this chapter. Angst-y Loke is so much fun to write!**

**Sorry, this was supposed to be out yesterday, but my family is _insane._ I just want to punch them all…**

**Disclaimer- Lol. I promise, I don't own Fairy Tail. Although, sometimes, I really wish I did…**

_**Leo** sat in his living room in the house he had in the Spirit World, reading a book. The book was one his owner, Celeste Furratus, had told him was one of her current favorites._

_Suddenly, as one of the main characters was going through their death scene, he heard his owner's familiar, beloved, soprano voice echo through his head, (normal) "Open, Gate of the Lion! LEO!"_

_Leo was no longer sitting comfortably in his chair, oh no, he was in the midst of a battle. Quickly, he took in the situation._

_His master, Celeste, was badly wounded. Bright scarlet blood was leaking from multiple wounds, but most of the blood was coming from a deep gash on her side. The slowly drying liquid was quickly staining her sunshine yellow kimono into a rusty, disgusting mess. Her black curls also had dried blood in them, and one of her sea green eyes was swollen shut. Her frail body trembled, and her pale skin had bruises blossoming everywhere, as if she were a garden for blue and purple splotches._

_Her enemy wasn't in much better shape. His blonde hair was drying into an awkward mass of blood and sweat, and his right hand was quite obviously broken._

_"Master," Leo chided, "You should have called me sooner."_

_Celeste's beloved laugh echoed behind him before turning into a bloody, racking cough, "I couldn't... call you... before. But... you're here now."_

_"Why couldn't you call me before?" Leo asked, his voice going dangerously calm._

_"Because my friend here," the blonde man said, toeing a dead body, "His magic prevents whoever he chooses from using magic. However, when your Mistress killed him, she could call upon her spirits once again."_

_Leo glanced at his owner again, "Which one did this to you?"_

_"I did," the blonde man cackled, "It was all me."_

_Leo cracked his knuckles, "Oh, you really shouldn't have told me that."_

_"Oh, yeah?" the blonde man asked sarcastically, "Why?"_

_"Have you ever... seen a mother lion... protect her cub?" Celeste asked, "Well, that's nothing... compared to what's... about to happen."_

_Leo nodded, and asked his owner without even looking at her, "Master... Do you want him dead or alive?"_

_"Doesn't matter," his owner sighed, "It's... your choice."_

_Leo smiled, "Good."_

_**Fifteen** minutes later, the blonde man coughed a final, bloody cough, and Leo released his now dead body._

_"Master, if you don't need anything else," Leo said, turning while straightening his suit jacket, "I'll be returning to- Master!?"_

_Leo rushed over to the dark haired woman's side, quickly kneeling next to her. Her breaths came in shuddering gasps, occasionally interrupted by bloody coughs._

_"Master!?" Leo half screamed, gently pulling her frail body into his lap, "What's wrong!?"_

_"He must... have pierced... a lung, during... our battle," Celeste panted out, before coughing blood all over Leo's face, chest, and suit._

_Not even bothering to wipe the blood from his face, he cradled his master closer, "What do I do? How can I help you?"_

_"You can't," his beloved master breathed out painfully, "There's nothing... you can do. Leo..."_

_Leo felt tears start to run down his face, but her answered her call anyway, "Yes, Master?"_

_"These are... all my keys," Celeste panted, struggling to push a ring with all thirteen Golden Gate keys, along with many Silver Gate keys, into Leo's hand, "Take them... with you when... you return to... the Spirit World... Give them... back to... everyone... And tell everyone... that it... was a pleasure... to work with... them."_

_Leo gently took the keys from her shaking hands, tears running faster now, "Of course, Master."_

_"Leo," his master said, voice going childish with insecurity, "What's going... to happen... to me?"_

_Leo knew that he wasn't supposed to answer anyone when they asked that question, but he didn't care. If he was going to break this rule, there was no one he would rather do it for then this woman, Celeste Furratus, the only woman he had ever loved in his entire existence._

_"You get reincarnated," Leo sobbed, "Eventually, your soul gets reborn in another body, and you live another life."_

_Her cold hands latched into his arm, and her sea green eyes, one barely open, stared into his, "Am I... the same? Or... am I... different?"_

_"I don't know what you mean," Leo said, still sobbing, "You're different in each life."_

_"Oh," his master said, a look of worry on her still beautiful face, "If I... was in love... with someone... and I... met them... in the next... life... would I... still... love them?"_

_Leo felt a moment of intense jealousy for whoever it was that his master loved, but he told her the truth, "Yes, you will."_

_A faint smile appeared on Celeste's face, "That's... good... I never... got to tell... him."_

_"If you want," Leo offered, the tears still falling from his eyes, "I'll tell him for you, Master."_

_Despite all the blood that she'd lost, a very faint blush appeared on his master's face. Even though she was barely able to move, Celeste moved one of her cold hands to his cheek, "Silly lion... He's... right in... front of me."_

_Leo's eyes went wide, "M-Me?"_

_"Who else... would I... ever be able... to fall for?" she asked quietly, "It was... always you... You were... always there to... save me. And... you were there... just because."_

_Leo cracked a watery smile, "Is that why you'd open my gate just to talk?"_

_His master nodded, "I know... it's against... the rules... but... I love you... Leo," his master panted out, tears gathering in her eyes._

_Slowly, Leo lowered his head and pressed his lips to his owner's. Gently, he kissed her, trying to pour all the love he felt for her into the kiss. Soon, he pulled away and rested his forehead on hers._

_"I love you, too, Celeste," Leo sobbed out._

_Celeste smiled a smile of pure delight, "That's... the first time... you called me... Celeste. I... like it."_

_Suddenly, his master coughed again, more blood spraying from her mouth._

_"Celeste! Celeste, stay with me!" Leo yelled, holding her close, "I still have to tell you something!"_

_Celeste stared into his eyes, and he could tell she didn't have much time left, "Yes... Leo?"_

_Leo held her closer, as close to his heart as he could get her, "I love you. And no matter how long it is, I'll wait for you. I'll love you life after life, and eventually, you'll join me in the stars. You are the only person I'll ever love, and I'll wait impatiently for your next self to love me, too."_

_"She will," Celeste breathed, "You are... so utterly... charming."_

_"I love you," Leo sobbed, "I don't want you to go."_

_"I love you, too," Celeste breathed, the pain leaving her face, "See you in the next life."_

_"Celeste? Celeste!?" Leo cried._

_Suddenly, the girl in his arms turned blonde, her eyes turning brown, her breasts growing slightly, and Loke felt sunglasses on his face. The only thing that didn't change was the fact that the girl in his arms was dead, "Lucy!? LUCY!?"_

**Loke** shot up like a bullet, body tangled in the sheets on his bed. He sobbed, tears streaming down his sweaty face.

"Oh god," Loke sobbed, "Why didn't I realize it sooner? Of course Lucy would be one..."

He hugged his arms around his body, holding himself so that he didn't fall apart, "Celeste, Orianthi, Deidra, Morgana, Keiko, Alexis, Taylor, Jamie, Victoria, Bailey, and... Lucy. I've let you down so many times. So many times have I let you die."

He held his shaking body, unsure of how to deal with the pain of being such a horrible spirit. Of being such a horrible boyfriend.

"Leo?" Aires's gentle voice came from the doorway, "I-I'm sorry, but what's wrong?"

Leo looked up, his tear filled gaze meeting her worried eyes, "I... I..."

Hesitantly, Aires crossed the room and wrapped her arms around him, "You?"

"I... I..." Loke sobbed out, "I let her die! I've let her die so many times!"

"Leo," Aires breathed out, clutching him closer, "Bailey didn't blame you. I was there, too, remember? I'm sorry, but it wasn't your fault."

Loke looked at Aires with wide, crazed eyes, "I'm talking about Lucy. I let her die."

Aires stared at Loke like he was insane, "I'm sorry, what are you talking about? Lucy is perfectly fine."

"What?" Loke asked, hope in his eyes, "What do you mean she's okay?"

"Y-You were with her earlier, remember?" Aires asked hesitantly. At the sight of the near insane happiness in Loke's eyes, she cringed slightly, "I-I'm sorry!"

"No, sweet, gentle Aires, don't be sorry," Loke said, his tears turning happy, "Thank you."

Aires smiled at him, "M-Maybe you should go to Lucy."

Loke smiled back, and kissed Aires on the forehead, "I'll be back."

Suddenly, Loke stood in Lucy's pitch black apartment. Trying very hard not to trip over anything, he quickly crossed the living room to Lucy's bedroom. Carefully, he walked to her bed and felt for the edge of the blanket. He crawled under the blanket, doing his best not to wake her, and once he settled, he felt the still sleeping Lucy snuggle up to him.

With a faint purr coming from his chest, he pulled her close. The purr, however, was enough to wake up the beautiful blonde in his arms.

"Loke," she sighed, still half asleep, before nestling into his chest.

"Y-Yes?" Loke asked quietly.

In shock, Lucy shot up, eyes wide. "Loke!" she shrieked, "What are you doing here!?"

"I-I needed to see you," Loke whispered brokenly, "Please don't send me away."

Lucy blinked once, twice, blushed slightly, and laid back down, once more nestling into his chest, whispering with no conviction, as if she would love to be proven wrong, "Fine, but just this once."

Loke's arms wrapped around Lucy's waist, and he whispered back, "We'll see."

For long minutes, they lay there in silence, before Lucy quietly asked, "Loke...?"

"Yes?" Loke asked back, pulling his beloved master closer.

"What's wrong?" she asked, twisting her head and craning her neck to stare into his eyes with her large brown ones, "You're shuddering, and you look like you've been crying."

"I..." Loke started, before hesitating, "I had a bad dream."

Lucy placed her cheek on his chest, right over his heart, "You had a bad dream? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah," Loke said. After quickly puzzling through what he could tell her, he started, "It started out as a memory. I was remembering one of my very first Masters. Celeste Furratus."

"Isn't she the only celestial wizard to ever collect all thirteen Golden Gate keys?" Lucy asked when Loke paused.

"She was," Loke smiled momentarily, before once more turning serious, "The memory was of the day she died."

"What..." Lucy started before hesitating, "What happened to her?"

"She took a request," Loke started, clutching Lucy to him even tighter, "The request was to track down a bandit group that had been terrorizing a town. It was only an S-Class quest because the bandit group had two very strong mages as its head."

Loke paused, and took a deep inhale of Lucy's scent, "She went to the town and easily defeated the bandits, until all she had left were the two mages. One mage used requip magic, and the other used a type of magic that allowed them to block off another person's magic power. Celeste couldn't call upon any of her spirits. She fought hand to hand until she had defeated the man who could block her magic. However, in the fight, her lung was pierced. She called me, and I took out the other man. Only then did I realize she was dying."

Loke once more started to cry, "I... I held her while she died. I was right there while the light left her eyes."

Lucy clutched him tightly, "And that's what you dreamed?"

Loke shook his head, "No. I came to terms with her death a long time ago."

"Then..." Lucy said, "Then what did you dream about?"

"In my arms... Celeste... She turned to you," Loke finally admitted.

Lucy stilled in his arms, "Why did she turn to me?"

"Because I love you," Loke whispered.

Lucy looked up at him with wide eyes, "You l-l-love me?"

Loke nodded, "It scared me so badly because I thought I let you die. I didn't even know you were alive until Aires told me that I was with you earlier today."

"But, Loke - I haven't seen you in months," Lucy stared at him in confusion before smiling, "Oh yeah. Three months here is one day there."

Loke rested his forehead against Lucy's, "You haven't said it back yet."

"Said what?" Lucy asked, a blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Said 'I love you,'" Loke said.

Lucy's blush deepened, "I-I l-love you, Loke."

Loke pressed his lips to Lucy's for a split second. He pulled away and smiled, forehead still on hers, "Without you, I don't want to exist."


	6. Chapter 6 Lucy

**A/N- When I was writing this chapter I was like, "Oh, this one seems like the lightest chapter yet! Least angst, least tears, least all-around-horrible-ness."**

**And then I realized what happened in the chapter and went 0.0 "I am a terrible person…"**

**But anyway, hope you enjoy! THIS CHAPTER MAKES US A THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH THE STORY! RANDOM CELEBRATION!**

**Disclaimer- Nope. Not at all.**

_"Lucy! Let's go to the beach!" Lucy saw her mother cheer as she ran down the stairs, "It's the first nice day in a while, and I feel great!"_

_The ten year old girl smiled at her mother, "But won't Daddy be mad? You're supposed to stay in bed and I have lessons."_

_Layla stuck her tongue out at her daughter, "I'm your mother, and I say that you have too many lessons. Come on, let's go to the beach!"_

_Lucy giggled, "Are you sure?"_

_"Duh," Lucy's mother said with a playful grin, "Now let's go before we get caught and are forced to do what we're supposed to be doing."_

_The two blondes quickly collected their things and snuck out of the house. For the entire short walk to the beach, Lucy watched her mother happily. For as long as Lucy had been alive, her mother had been very, very sick. No one would tell the young blonde ten year old what her mother had, and sometimes Lucy worried about getting it, too. For all of Lucy's remembered life, her mother had been confined to the house. Most of the time, her mother laid in bed and told Lucy stories, but there were the occasional days that her mother felt great, and could get up and Do things. Most of the time, that meant that Lucy's father would take her mother somewhere special, but Lucy was never invited. Last time her mother had felt good, she'd promised Lucy that they would do something together. Lucy hadn't remembered until they walking to the beach, but she'd asked, "Can we go to the beach, Mommy?" Her mother had, of course, told her yes._

_They arrived at the beach, and Lucy quickly changed into her plain blue one piece. She looked up expectantly at her mother and gasped, "Mommy..."_

_Layla turned to look at Lucy, "Yes, honey?"_

_"You look beautiful," Lucy replied honestly._

_Her mother stood there in a dark purple plaid, two piece swim suit. The stripes in the pattern were light blue, and on the bottom edge of the top, and the top edge of the bottoms was a white ruffle. Her mother had pulled her hair into two pigtails, positioned low on the sides of her head._

_Layla smiled, "Thanks, sweetie. Ready to go swimming?"_

_Lucy shook her head, "No. I want my hair to look like yours."_

_Layla laughed, "Well, then, come here."_

_Lucy saw her mother reach into the beach bag she'd brought with and pull out two hair ties. After undoing her little side bow, her mother gave her a matching set of pigtails._

_Both blondes ran out onto the beach and they quickly set up their towels and a huge umbrella. Then, both girls ran out into the water._

_They giggled and splashed until lunchtime, when Layla forced Lucy to come eat lunch with her. They went back to the towels and ate the lunch someone had packed in the bag._

_"Mommy?" Lucy asked as they ate._

_"Yeah?" Layla said, looking up from her sandwich with a smile._

_"If nobody is supposed to know we're here, who packed lunch?" Lucy asked, trying to puzzle through it._

_"Cook did," Layla smiled. At Lucy's betrayed look, Layla laughed slightly, "Don't worry. I told Cook that me and you were having a picnic on the premises. Daddy will never find out, so we can't get in trouble."_

_Lucy smiled, "Okay, Mommy."_

_After lunch, Lucy tried to go back in the water, but her mother said, "Ah nah nah. Not for one hour, silly. Besides, if you went swimming, how would I buy you ice cream from that nice looking vendor over there?"_

_Lucy gasped in excitement, "Ice cream? Can we really?"_

_Layla laughed and nodded, "Come on, sweetie."_

_Lucy and Layla went up to the vendor, and Lucy asked for vanilla. While the young man was scooping ice cream into Lucy's cone he smiled at her mother, "It's really nice of you to take your sister to the beach."_

_Layla's eyes widened in amusement, "Sister?"_

_Lucy giggled, "Silly Mr. Ice Cream Man, this is my mommy."_

_The ice cream vendor looked surprised, "Really? You don't look old enough to be a mom."_

_"Thank you," Layla dimpled prettily, then sneezed, "Come on, Lucy. After you finish your ice cream you can build me a sand castle."_

_"Okay, Mommy!"_

_Lucy ate her ice cream, and her mother started sneezing a lot._

_Lucy started building her sand castle, and watched as her mother eventually pulled a shirt on, still sneezing quite a lot._

_About halfway through her sand castle, Layla called, "Lucy, maybe we should be going home soon."_

_"Aw, Mom!" Lucy whined, "I'm not done with my sand castle!"_

_Layla smiled, "Fine, we can stay so you can finish your sand castle."_

_Lucy built her sand castle, purposely dragging it out, since she didn't want to go home. But, eventually, it was finished. It was as tall as she was, and had lots and lots of detailing. She had built towers and turrets. It seriously looked like a castle._

_"Alright, I'm done now," Lucy said, standing up with a sigh. She turned to her mother, "I guess it's time to go home."_

_Something about her mother looked funny, but Lucy couldn't figure out what it was._

_Layla smiled, "Alright. Do you want to carry the bag, sweetie?"_

_Lucy smiled, "Yes!"_

_Lucy grabbed the bag and the two women started walking home, still in their swim suits. The closer they got to home, the funnier and funnier her mother looked, but Lucy still couldn't figure out what was wrong. When they finally got to the cul de sac in front of the house, her mother was stumbling slightly._

_"Mommy? What's wrong?" Lucy asked, her concern for her mother overpowering everything else in her young mind._

_Layla smiled a small smile, and Lucy finally recognized the funny look on her mother's face; it was pain, but far past anything Lucy had ever seen, "I'm fine, sweetie."_

_They opened the door and walked inside. Lucy set the beach bag down and saw her mother smile a smile of relief, "Oh, good, we're home."_

_And then she fell to the floor._

_"Mommy? Mommy, get up," Lucy said quietly._

_Her mother didn't move, "I can't. Get your Daddy for me, please."_

_Lucy ran up the stairs and quickly ran to her father's office. She knew she wasn't supposed to go in there, but..._

_She opened the door and her father looked up in outrage. "Daddy," she said before he could start yelling, "Mommy fell down and she can't get up. She told me to get you."_

_Her father's expression turned to one of scared shock and he got up from his chair and quickly ran downstairs. Lucy followed him, and when she got downstairs, her father was already kneeling next to her mother, "Layla, why are you wearing your bathing suit?"_

_"I took Lucy to the beach. Today is a very special day," Layla said._

_Her father looked at her angrily, "How could you let your mother take you to the beach? You know she-"_

_"She doesn't know, Jude," her mother interrupted, "I made sure no one told her."_

_"Told me what?" Lucy asked, but her mother ignored her question._

_Layla said, "Jude, you can't tune her out like you always do. She's going to need you, very, very, badly."_

_Her father nodded, "I'll do my best, Layla."_

_"Do you remember what I told you about magic?" Layla asked, turning to her. Lucy nodded, and her mother continued, "Good. And sweetie?"_

_"What?" Lucy asked, not sure why both of her parents were crying._

_Her mother smiled the most beautiful smile Lucy had ever seen, "Happy birthday."_

_Right then, Lucy realized that, yes, it was her birthday. She was eleven._

_"Mommy?" she asked her mother's unmoving body, "Mommy?"_

_Lucy blinked, and suddenly what had happened clicked in her mind._

_"MOMMY!"_

Lucy shot up with a gasp, tears running full force down her face. "Mommy," she cried, burying her face in her arms.

She shook and shook, unable to stop crying.

~Of course, the one time I need someone to hold me, Natsu didn't stay over…~ she thought deep in the back of her mind, the only part of her that was still capable of rational thought. Sure, it annoyed her when he slept at her house uninvited, but she really needed someone who would ask no questions and just hold her while she sobbed, ~Okay, so maybe not Natsu…~

She continued to sob and shake, unable to stop, and deep, even deeper then the thoughts about Natsu, ~I wish _he_ was here.~

Before she knew it, two warm, strong arms that she instantly recognized as _his_ enveloped her, and she jumped into his arms, burying her face in his neck, sobs coming harder and faster now.

"Shh, shh, I've got you now. You're okay. I won't let anything hurt you," he said, care in his voice, although not the care Lucy always wished would be there.

She sobbed and sobbed, not really sure why she was crying this hard, since she had come to terms with what happened to her mother years ago.

As her sobs eventually settled, his quiet voice came, "Do you want to talk about it this time?"

Lucy nodded against his neck, and she could tell he was surprised. She knew the feeling; she was surprised, too.

"I dreamed of Mom's death again," she said.

His arms wrapped tighter around her. She had told him the story of her mother's death, although she had never told him her secret fear. Tonight, however, she was going to.

"I think it's because I'm scared," she admitted, still not looking at him.

"Of what?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Lucy started shuddering, although this time, she wasn't crying, "Of getting what Mom had."

"What… what did she have?" he asked.

Lucy's shaking got worse, "She had Magical Deterioration Disease."

His arms clenched, and she could feel old pain radiating from him. "You've heard of it?" she asked, slightly surprised.

"Yeah," he said, "I used to have a Master who had it, once."

"I'm scared, Loke," Lucy said, "I'm scared that one day I'm going to wake up, and my bones are going to feel like they're on fire, and my magic power is going to slowly leach away from me. I'm scared I'm going to end up like Mom, lying on the floor, unable to move as the disease finally rips the last of my magic out of me."

Loke held her tighter then he ever had, bordering on the point of pain, but it was barely tight enough for Lucy, "I won't let that happen, Lucy. I've already lost one beloved Master to MDD, I'm not going to lose another."

Lucy's heart skipped, but she knew he meant his 'beloved' in an entirely platonic way, "Thanks, Loke."

She gave him one final squeeze, and released him. Loke pulled away and smiled at her, digging in one of the pockets of his coat.

He pulled out a necklace, an ancient necklace made of tiny alternating ivory and ebony beads on a chain of pure gold, with a little star pendant in the center.

"L-Loke," she sighed, awed by the beauty of the necklace.

Loke put the necklace on her, shutting the clasp, and the star hug perfectly in the hollow of her throat.

"Thank you," she said, looking at him over her shoulder.

Loke smiled and kissed her forehead, "It belonged to my second to last master, Bailey Ardin."

Lucy stroked it, "Why are you giving it to me?"

He smiled, "Happy eighteenth, Lucy."

Lucy smiled a little bit, "I don't know how I'd stay sane without you, Loke."


	7. Chapter 7 Jellal

**A/N- I've been looking forward to writing this chapter since I got the idea for the fic. This chapter is DEFINITELY the least angsty/depressing/terrible. And it is definitely the fluffiest.**

…**but yeah, I sort of had this idea when we were first introduced to Crime Sorciere, but I never got around to writing it, and now I'm glad I didn't because it works perfectly in this story.**

**Disclaimer- Nope. I'm not even a dude. **

**It** had been a normal day for Jellal. He had sat in his floating prison cell with nothing to do but pretend to have conversations with the beautiful Erza, who had been missing for a year, now.

~Erza... I wonder what you would say... If you were here... Would you still be as forgiving as you were when I met you? Well... I knew you before, you said. And all I knew was your name, and your face. They all tell me the horrible things I did, but sometimes I wonder if they are true. Did I really do those things to you? If I did... How could you ever forgive me?~

Jellal stared out the window, watching the moon, slowly becoming tired, ~I've wanted to know if I really did those things for a year now... But I'm scared, Erza. What if I actually dud those things to you, and everyone else...?~

Jellal felt his will harden, ~I have to know. I can't live like this anymore, not knowing if I'm a terrible person... I have to know.~

Jellal sat there, desperately trying to call up anything, any memory, but all the memories he had were the ones he'd collected after Wendy had healed him.

~Please,~ he begged, although he had no idea who he was begging, ~Let me remember. I _need _to remember…~

Eventually, Jellal fell asleep, after another worthless day.

~If only I could have gone missing instead of Erza. She deserved a life…~

_**Jellal** and Erza walked slowly back to their cell, lagging behind the others._

"_Jellal, I'm so tired," Erza said, stumbling slightly._

"_So am I, Erza. All of us are tired," Jellal said, taking her arm and wrapping it around his shoulder, trying to help support her. It was a sign of how bad her exhaustion was that Erza let him._

"_I wish there was something we could do," she said quietly, "We have to get out of here. Especially Sho and Millianna. You, me, and Simon, we are strong, but Sho and Millianna… we have to get them out, at least."_

_Jellal glanced around, "Erza, be careful. Someone could hear you. But you're right. Someone has to come up with a plan."_

_Erza smiled trustingly up at him, "You're smart, Jellal. Do you think that you can come up with a plan to get us out of here?"_

_Jellal looked into her trusting eyes, preparing to tell her 'no', but the way she was looking at him, as if he was her hero, her savior, as if he was going to be the one to rescue her from this hell, was his downfall. "Yeah," he heard himself say, "I can think of something."_

_Erza's smile grew, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks, "Really?"_

_The happiness lighting up her face was too much for him; there was definitely no turning back now. "Yeah," he said, "I can definitely think of something."_

_Erza glanced quickly around, and after making sure no one was around, she leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "Thank you, Jellal." Then, she turned her small face and pressed her soft lips to his cheek._

_Her lips were only pressed against his skin for a second or two, but that second was enough for it to feel like his cheeks had erupted in flames. It felt like he was on fire, and when Erza pulled her face away from his, the same thing had happened to her._

_Her cheeks were bright, bright as her hair, and Jellal hesitantly took her hand, "I won't let you down, Erza."_

_Despite the blush still causing her cheeks to glow, she smiled at him, "I know you won't, Jellal." _

_**It **had been nearly two months since Erza had asked him to think of a plan to get them out, and Jellal was pretty sure that she had forgotten, even if he hadn't. After they had returned from their work for the day, they had all sat and waited for dinner. Sho and Millianna were asleep minutes after dinner was over, and the old man was asleep ten or fifteen minutes afterwards. Even though the plan was to get them all out, Jellal wanted to wait until everyone else was asleep until he told Erza. He wanted her opinion. If she thought it was a terrible plan, he would do his best to come up with another, but for now, he had his plan._

_He struggled to keep his eyes open as he waited for Simon to fall asleep. Erza had fallen asleep a half an hour ago, but Simon was still tossing and turning._

_Slowly, Jellal went over his plan again, trying, once more, to find a flaw, or something he hadn't planned as well as he could. But, just like always, he could think of nothing new. _

_When Simon had been asleep for fifteen minutes, Jellal crawled quietly and carefully over to Erza's sleeping form. Slowly, he shook her awake. When her eyes opened, her mouth did as well, obviously to ask her why he was waking her up in the middle of the night. With a shushing motion, Jellal gestured over to the farthest corner, where, if they talked quietly, they wouldn't wake everyone else up._

_Erza and Jellal crawled over to the corner, and once they got there, Erza turned her far to trusting eyes on him._

"_What is it?" she questioned quietly, "Is something wrong?"_

"_No, nothing is wrong," Jellal replied, just as quiet, "But I did it."_

"_Did what?" Erza asked, proving his theory that she had forgotten right, "What did you do?"_

_Jellal smiled gently at her, "I did what you asked me to. You asked me to think of a plan to get us all out of here, and I did."_

_Erza's eyes widened to a nearly comical point, and she whispered, awe in her voice, "You did? You really thought of a plan to get us out?"_

"_Yeah," Jellal whispered back, "Sho, and Millianna, and Simon, and you, and me, and even the old man, if he wants to come with us."_

_Erza smiled, "Wow. I'm…I'm happy."_

_Gently, Jellal teased, "What, did you think I wouldn't be able to do it?"_

_Erza blushed with embarrassment, "Actually, yes. I've been trying to think of a plan to get us out of here for months and months, and I couldn't think of anything. But I ask and you come up with a plan in two months."_

_Jellal blushed faintly, and scratched the back of his neck, "Well, it wasn't that bad. Me and you work in different sections is all. I knew about a different part of the building."_

_Erza blinked innocently, "But you work in my section."_

"_Most of the time," Jellal added, "Sometimes they take me out of our section to haul the garbage, remember?"_

"_Yeah," Erza said, "But how will that help us?"_

"_The next time they take out the garbage is on Friday. So when the man comes and tells me that I have to go take garbage out, you guys will come with me. We'll tell the guy in charge over there that all of us were sent, and we'll start carrying garbage down the chute. When we get to the end of the chute, we'll tell the guard _there_ that the guard at the other end wants to see him. Then we'll slip through this crack I found that's too small for any of the guards to fit through. It opens into one of the old, abandoned sections that are near the surface. Then we escape. There are boats out there, I saw them when I checked it out to see if my plan would work," Jellal told her._

_Erza grinned, "That's a brilliant plan, Jellal. You did great."_

"_Thanks," Jellal answered._

_Their eyes met, and for almost a minute, they just sat there, staring at each other. But slowly, their faces started moving closer to each other's._

_When their lips met, it was awkward, and probably the worst kiss ever had by anyone, since it was each of theirs first kiss, but neither of them cared. _

_The fact that they had been willing to kiss meant that the other one loved them, too…_

Jellal sat up with a gasp, eyes opening in a flash. He didn't remember everything, but, slowly, some things were coming back to him. Like Erza and his first kiss. Like their attempted escape. Like the fact that they got caught.

It was fuzzy for a while after that, and then he remembered boring council sessions, but everybody's faces were fuzzy, since he couldn't quite recall them. He remember, vaguely, threatening Erza just before a… a trial, maybe?

He couldn't quite recall anything that happened after that, though, but he did get a terrible sense of _wrongness _and _grief _and _regret_ at what happened there. So he assumed that the rumors were true.

He was staring out the window again, contemplating the fact that he was a horrible person in love with one of the best people he could remember knowing when, suddenly, a breath of fresh air hit his face. He hadn't felt one of those since they'd put him in his cell.

"Are you coming out or did we go to all this trouble to save you for nothing?" a high soprano voice asked him. He turned to the – shockingly – open door of his prison cell and saw a young girl who was just hitting puberty standing there. Her wavy hair was just past her shoulder blades, and she had a faint smile on her face.

Standing next to her was a dark haired woman who had obviously past puberty, "Come on out, Jellal. We don't have much time. The Sleep spell won't last forever."

Jellal stared at the woman, "Why would you break me out? I'm a terrible person."

The pink haired girl smiled, "So are we, but we're doing our best to make up for it."

"Meredy is right," the dark haired woman said, "And you can come and help us. All three of us can make up for our sins together."

"Why are you helping me, though?" Jellal asked, "It doesn't make any sense."

The dark haired woman smiled, "Because I've committed sins against you, as well as many other people. But my way of making it up to you is by giving you a chance to make up for _your_ sins. Which you are never going to do rotting in a jail cell."

Jellal blinked, and the dark haired woman's face clicked. He smiled and took the two women's hands. They assisted them out, and, finally, he said, "You're right, Ultear. But how are we going to make up for our sins?"

Meredy smiled up at him, "Me and Ul are an independent guild, Crime Sorciere. Our goal is to defeat all of the dark guilds, and eradicate all traces of Zeref's magic. That way, nobody like you or Ul happens ever again. If you want, you can join us, or you can do something else to make up for what you did."

"After hearing a goal like that," Jellal said, a slow, small smile growing on his face, "What could I do _but_ help?"

~Erza… I will make up for what I did, not only to you, but to the world. If, when you get back from wherever you are, you decide that taking my life is more important, I'll fully understand. I _will_ earn your forgiveness. Because without you in my life, I don't want it.~


	8. Chapter 8 Erza

**A/N- This is the shortest chapter yet. Sigh… sorry. Erza was hard to do. Not because it is hard to write angst-y Erza, but because she always seems so strong, even when she's falling apart. **

**I'm exhausted right now, so sorry if this one isn't up to par. I may eventually rewrite this chapter, but not right now. Right now, you will take what you get. **

**It's three forty, here, so I guess the chapter is late… sigh… sorry, again. I just couldn't concentrate. Seriously, I just… couldn't…**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer- My name is not Hiro Mashima.**

**Also, WHERE IS MY NEW CHAPTER!? I'M DYING, HERE!**

Erza woke up in the infirmary at Fairy Tail. It had been nearly a week since they had been attacked at the Tower of Heaven, and Erza was still healing from her series of fights there.

When she had returned to Fairy Tail, she and Porlyusica, both, had been very shocked that she was still alive. Her injuries were very, very extensive, to the point that whenever she needed to go to the bathroom – or anywhere, really – someone, mostly Mirajane, had to help her there and back.

Erza spent a lot of her time sleeping dreamlessly, but she was awake, she very unsure of what to think of everything that happened there. She was very happy for Sho, Wally, and Millianna, and she hoped that they would lead great lives, find guilds where they could be happy, find love, all of it. She wanted them to experience life to its fullest. Not only for the time they missed out on, but for Simon, too. Simon, the one friend she couldn't save. Simon, the friend who had sacrificed himself for her cause.

Simon… whenever she thought of Simon, an incredible amount of guilt lapped at her. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about his sacrifice, but all she felt was terrible. Simon may have been her friend, and he may have been helping her, but… you were supposed to live for your friends, not _die _for them. She had learned that the hard way.

But what he had done for her… she appreciated it. She was glad that she was still alive, even though she knew it was selfish. She knew she shouldn't be glad that Simon had died for her, but… she was anyway…

But the topic she most wanted to avoid in her head was Jellal. She _really _didn't know what to think about that man. She was so confused. He had betrayed her, and hated her. He had attacked her and tried to have her killed.

She knew he was a terrible man, who had many deaths on his hands, but for some reason… some strange, strange reason… she couldn't force herself to hate him.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't hate him. She knew all the terrible things he had done, and she knew that he had hurt not only her, but her nakama. She knew that the wanted to destroy the world as she knew it, but… she still couldn't hate him.

She had tried, but she couldn't…

"_Erza, what are you doing up?" Jellal's voice came from behind her. She was sitting in the corner, staring out the tiny, tiny hole there at the nighttime sky. She knew they couldn't escape from there, the rocks surrounding it were too heavy to move, and they had nothing to chip at them with._

"_I can't sleep," Erza said._

"_Why?" Jellal asked, sitting down next to her, "Is something wrong?"_

"_Yes, something is wrong," Erza said, tears starting to fall down her cheeks, "It was my birthday today."_

"_Oh," Jellal said, eyes widening, "I'm sorry, Erza. Happy birthday. How old are you?"_

"_I'm eleven," Erza said, tears still falling from her eyes and dripping down her face._

"_Hey, don't cry," Jellal said, as he crawled over to her and wrapped his arms around her, "Don't cry. Come on, Erza, be strong. You don't want to be eleven in this place anyway. Once you turn eleven, like me, they add more to your work load. They expect more from you then they did before, even though you're the same size."_

_Erza continued crying, "Still, it's my birthday today, and it just made me realize how terrible the situation we are in is."_

"_What do you mean?" Jellal asked, arms still around her._

"_Every year on my birthday, my parents would wake me up extremely early," Erza started, "They'd make me breakfast in bed, and then I would open up my presents. We would spend the whole day doing the things I wanted, whether that was stay at home, or go to an amusement park, or if I wanted to, we could spend the whole day at the local library, because it didn't really matter to them, as long as I was happy and we were together. They didn't care what we did. They just wanted my happiness in return for my birthday."_

_Erza sighed a shuddering breath, and the tears continued to fall. She nestled closer to Jellal for comfort, "When the men from the Tower of Heaven came to kidnap me, my parents fought them. The men who kidnapped me… they killed my parents, right in front of me."_

"_Erza…" Jellal said, his sadness for what happened to her in his voice, "There are not enough words in the world, but… I'm sorry."_

_Erza sent him her best attempt at a smile, but both Erza and Jellal could tell how fragile and weak it was, "Thank you, Jellal."_

_For a while, Erza and Jellal sat there in silence, Erza still in Jellal's arms._

_After almost an hour, Erza whispered, "Hey, Jellal?"_

"_Yes, Erza?" he whispered back._

_She nestled closer to him, "Thank you… for listening earlier. And thank you for telling me happy birthday."_

"_It was no trouble, Erza," Jellal said quietly, holding her closer._

"_It meant a lot to me, though," Erza replied._

"_**Erza, **wake up. Erza, you need to get up," a young, girlish voice said, as a small, warm hand shook her._

_Erza, still half asleep, nestled closer to the bundle of warmth under and around her, "I don't want to, Mom. Five more minutes…"_

"_I'm not your mom, Erza," the voice replied, "And you don't have five more minutes. The guards will be here any second to take us to our section."_

_Erza slowly opened her sore eyes, squinting at the brightness. She blinked a couple times, and saw Millianna's concerned face above hers. "What is it, Millianna?"_

"_You didn't wake up like normal, so I woke you up. The guards will be here soon," Millianna replied, getting up to go wait like they were supposed to._

"_Oh," Erza said to herself. She attempted to sit up, but something held her down._

_She looked down at herself, and found Jellal's arms wrapped around her._

_Her face turned as red as her hair, and she gently shook Jellal awake._

_When his eyes opened, he blushed, too._

_**Erza** walked slowly back to the cell, Millianna next to her. The girls had worked on a separate section then the boys today, and had fulfilled their quota faster, too, so they would be the first ones there, today._

_Erza opened the door to the cell to let Millianna in, and stopped, shock written all over her face._

_She didn't know how he slipped away from the guards, or when he had found the time, or how he had snuck into the cell without getting caught, but sitting on her bed was Jellal's birthday gift to her._

_Somehow, he had gotten her a bouquet of snowdrops and white lilacs._

_Erza herself had taught Jellal flower meanings, since he had asked and her mother had been a florist._

_Snowdrops meant hope and consolation, which made sense with the conversation they had had last night._

_But it was what the white lilacs meant that made her blush with happiness._

_White lilacs meant first love._

Erza opened teary eyes, and stared sadly at the ceiling. She knew now why she couldn't bring herself to hate Jellal…

She couldn't bring herself to hate him because she was still in love with him.

Jellal may have betrayed her over and over, and he may have attacked her friends, but she still loved him.

He had hurt many people in her life, and had caused the death of Simon, but she still loved him.

He had ruined Sho, Wally, and Millianna's lives, but still, she loved him.

Erza felt the tears start streaming down her face – from both eyes, and sobs started to wrack her body. She tried to be strong, but she just couldn't stop crying.

"Erza?" the door creaked open, and revealed a concerned Mirajane, "You really should have told me earlier that you were in pain, you know. Porlyusica left this pain killer for you for a reason, you know. You don't have to be strong."

Erza was perfectly willing to let Mira believe that the reason she was sobbing was because she was in pain, since she knew the drug Mira would give her would make her sleep, and if she slept, she wouldn't have to think about the fact that she was in love with a traitor.

"Sorry, Mira," Erza sobbed out.

Mira brought her the medicine, and Erza drank it down quickly. Within minutes, Erza could feel her eyes getting heavy.

She was glad. She didn't want to think about the fact that without Jellal, she never would have learned to love, even though he had betrayed her.

She would rather have beautiful dreams about when he had brought her flowers when they were little.


	9. Chapter 9 Freed

**A/N- Here we are with Freed's chapter! …didn't I say I was never going to write another chapter during any thing canon…? Oh, well, too late.**

**This chapter takes place during episode 45, Advent of Satan. I'm going to be serious, that's my favorite fight of the entire first season. I had decided to do that as soon as Freed's chapter came up, but his flashback came to me when Mira's slowly going into her Satan Soul release. There is a flash of runes in front of her right as she changes, and this is how I explain it. Yup, yup, yup. **

**For an even awesomer affect of this chapter, listen to 'Dance With The Devil' by Breaking Benjamin while reading it. That's what I listened to while writing…**

**Disclaimer- HAH! I wish I owned Fairy Tail.**

**P.S. I WANT THE NEW CHAPTER ALREADY! DX **

"Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain!" Freed yelled.

~You will not get away with trying to rejoin the game, Elfman. Laxus has already declared the rules, and if I've gone this far…~

"NO!" Mirajane shrieked, but Freed wasn't really paying attention.

"Dark Ecriture," Freed said, "Death."

Quietly, he heard Mirajane mumble, "Death…?"

A wind started to blow, but this wind was different then the wind that had been blowing before. In fact, it felt a lot like… magical energy…

"Huh?" Mirajane's soulless voice continued, "That's strange…"

The wind became more and more like magic energy. Freed turned slowly, "What is this magic energy?"

Suddenly, he recognized it, and turned around in shock, "Mirajane!?"

Standing there, a magic circle above her head, was Mirajane, and slowly, her Take Over was breaking through the runes he had placed so carefully two years before…

"_You are Freed, right?" an empty voice asked from behind him._

_Freed turned around to see Mirajane, the older Strauss girl. The only Strauss girl, now…_

"_Yes, I'm Freed. Did you need something, Mirajane?" Freed asked. He wasn't sure if it was appropriate to convey his condolences. He had never met Lisanna, and before the death, he'd only ever talked to Mirajane once._

_Mirajane turned her empty eyes on Freed. "Help me," she whispered brokenly, "help me."_

"_How?" Freed asked back. He wanted to do something for the depressed mage, but how could he help her?_

"_I don't ever want to be able to use magic again," Mirajane said, "If I can't use magic, I'll never be able to overestimate myself, and then… it won't be Elfman, the next time."_

_Freed gasped, and prepared to tell Mirajane that he didn't think that he could do anything, when she turned eyes full of pain and desperation, "I'll do anything you want, just please… make it stop… just make it stop."_

_When she looked at him like that, he couldn't just tell the depressed mage that there was nothing he could do… she needed his help._

"_I'll try, Mirajane," Freed said, "but I'll need a couple days to think of the proper enchantment."_

"_Thank you, Freed," Mirajane said, her eyes back to the empty husks they had been. _

"_**Freed?" **Mirajane asked, two days later, "Have you thought of the enchantment yet?"_

_Freed looked up at Mirajane, "Yes, Mirajane, but…"_

"_But, what, Freed?" Mirajane asked, sitting down across from him._

_Freed sighed, "If I do this, there is a good chance that even if you come to me in a year, or two, or even three, that I may not be able to undo it. If you do this, there is no going back. You'll be stuck without magic, most likely for the rest of your life."_

_Mirajane nodded, "That's exactly what I want. I don't ever want to be able to use magic, again. There is nothing that could happen that is worth the chance that Elfman will die the same way Lisanna did."_

"_But are you sure of that, Mirajane? Are you sure that nothing will happen in the future where you will wish you had the ability to use magic?" Freed asked, "No one knows what the future will hold, Mira."_

_Mirajane's eyes widened, because no one but Lisanna had called her that. Freed knew that, but he thought that using that name was the only way to convey the gravity of the situation._

"_I'm sure, Freed," Mirajane said, her face going back to its typical expression these days: dead, "Nothing is worth that chance."_

"_Alright, Mirajane. I'll do it. Just don't regret this later, okay?" Freed pleaded._

_Mirajane nodded, "Nothing could make me ever regret this choice."_

"_**There, **try to use your magic now," Freed said, exhausted, "That should be good enough."_

_Mirajane struggled to use her magic, but nothing happened. "Nothing…?" she said. Her eyes widened, and she looked up at Freed in surprise, "You… you did it…"_

"_Of course I did," Freed said. Mirajane looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and Freed glanced away, "You asked me to."_

_Because he was looking away, he didn't notice Mirajane's approach, so he jumped when her arms came around him._

"_Thank you, Freed," Mirajane said, relief in her voice, tears streaming down her face, and sobs racking her body._

_Awkwardly, Freed patted her back, "It… It was no trouble, Mirajane."_

_A tiny, tiny smile appeared on Mirajane's face, "Freed…"_

"_Yes?" he asked, shocked by the smile._

_The smile grew larger, until it resembled the one he had always seen Lisanna wear, yet slightly different. Slightly more… pure._

"_It's just Mira."_

_Freed blinked, "Since when?"_

_Gently, Mira released him and kissed his cheek, "Since you sealed away my darkness. You showed me the light, again, Freed."_

Finally, the runes cracked, and Mira's Take Over appeared. Freed swallowed convulsively in fear. ~Oh, shit…~

Suddenly, Mira attacked him, and he went flying. Before she could hit him again, however, he screamed, "Dark Ecriture: Wings!"

~You may be powerful, Mira, but you don't have… oh shit!~

Freed watched as Mira reached behind her, and with a small scream, pulled two wings forward.

They collided, again and again, the battle carrying them farther and farther from the unconscious Cana, and the pain filled Elfman.

They slammed together, and flew away, but Mira didn't instantly attack him this time.

"You're dead," she said.

~T-This is the She Devil Mirajane's Take Over… Satan Soul?~ Freed thought to himself in fear, ~This is what I sealed away?~

Mira screamed out suddenly, "Darkness Stream!"

Freed had no chance to dodge, and went flying with the attack. He started his next attack, "Dark-"

He was interrupted when she kicked him.

As he went flying he said, "I've no other choice… Fight evil with evil! Dark Ecriture: Darkness!"

Their fists collided, and a huge explosion hit the area around them. They continued to battle, and Mirajane punched him into a dark cavern, following soon after.

Her hand hit his chest, "Evil Spark!"

He screamed with the pain, and she flew backwards slightly.

"S-Such magic power," Freed muttered to himself, although he was pretty sure she heard him, "I'd heard the rumors, but I had no idea Mirajane was like _this!"_

Mirajane seemed to laugh slightly, and Freed continued, "I can not afford to lose, though… Darkness Breath!"

Mirajane flew from the cavern with the force of his attack. Using the darkness created by his previous attack, he flew up for another.

As soon as he could see her, he attacked again, "Darkness Flash Bomb!"

She fell into the river, and Freed flew over to where she had landed, "Did I get her?"

Right where Mira had landed, the water started slowly circling. "What is that!?" Freed yelled in fear.

The water suddenly erupted upward, and Freed could see what was in the center – Mirajane.

"She's wrapping the river water around her!?" Freed yelled, "Just how much magic power does she have!?"

"Evil Explosion!" Mira yelled as she threw the water at him.

She flew up after it, and followed her attack to land right in front of him.

A dark ball appeared between her two outstretched hands. "Soul Extinctor!" she screamed, throwing the black sphere at him.

It hit him with an incredible amount of force, and Freed felt himself run out of magic power as he crashed to the ground. He attempted to get up, but the farthest he could get was his knees.

Mira landed on the ground before him, and he fell backwards. "FREED!" she yelled. Slowly, she started prowling towards him.

~I-I don't stand a chance!~ Freed screamed internally, ~This is the true power of the She Devil…~

Mirajane landed on top of him, and pulled back her fist for a punch.

Quickly, Freed came to terms with what was about to happen.

~I'm sorry…~ Freed thought, as her fist barreled towards him, ~For all that I've done…~

Just before crashing into his face with enough force to shatter his skull, Mirajane pulled her punch.

For long, long seconds, she shuddered on top of him. And suddenly, she released her Take Over, her body becoming hers once again while she straddled him.

"What are you doing!?" Freed yelled, ~No! After all I've done… just kill me!~

Mirajane turned a soft and sad expression on him, "This kind of fighting is meaningless…"

"Is this the 'arrogance of the victor', Mirajane!?" Freed screamed, attempting to anger her again, "Just finish me off!"

"We're comrades…" Mira said, moving off of him and to his side, "Members of the same guild. We laugh together… have fun together… walk together…"

"B-Be quiet!" Freed yelled, doing his best not to hear what she was saying to him, "Laxus is my only comrade!"

~Because if you are all my comrades… what I have done deserves worse then death…~

"You know that's not true," Mira said with a faintly scolding expression, "Freed, you've known it for a long time."

Mira sighed, "I don't think it is wrong to depend entirely on one person, but you're surrounded by so many other people, too."

Freed felt tears come to his eyes, and he could see Mira was fighting back her tears, too.

"People are _always _connected with other people. See?" Mirajane asked, taking his hand gently. As she spoke, her other hand came around his as well, "If you just reach out… you'll find them right there."

Mira sent him a watery smile as the tears finally fell, "Once a person realizes that it's lonely being alone, they can grow to be kind."

She smiled wider, with a faint trace of pride, "You've come to realize that."

Freed sobbed, "I never… wanted to do this!"

"I know," Mira said, an accepting smile on her face.

Gently, she wiped away his tears, "Next year, let's enjoy the harvest festival together, okay?"

Freed knew he didn't deserve to be happy, because what he had done was far too horrible. But he couldn't stop himself from saying, "Y-Yeah…"

~Mirajane…~ Freed thought to himself as she helped him up, ~I don't deserve you… I don't deserve to live.~

Mira smiled at him, and they slowly started walking in the direction of the guild hall.

Freed looked around at the carnage all around them, made when Mira's Take Over had escaped the runes he had cast.

He glanced over at her, and saw that even though she had her magic back, she was still the smiling girl she had been since he had blocked her magic for her.

"_It's just Mira."_

"_Since when?"_

"_Since you sealed away my darkness. You showed me the light, again, Freed."_

~No, Mira…~ Freed thought as the words from two years ago echoed through his mind, ~_You _showed _me _the light again…~

He smiled slowly over at her, and she beamed back.

~Because without you, there would be no light… I'd just forgotten…~


	10. Chapter 10 Mirajane

**A/N- Yay! Mirajane's chapter! I counted yesterday after uploading Freed's chapter: with that chapter, we are officially halfway done with this fic! Thank you so much for your support! **

**Disclaimer- I don't own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.**

Mirajane looked around the guild hall with a sigh. There was nothing she could do tonight, sadly.

She had no idea why, but the other members of Fairy Tail had decided to throw a party. It might have been a preemptive celebration of Cana's eighteenth birthday, or a late second celebration of Levy's seventeenth, or even neither, but all Mira knew was that because everyone was passed out on the floor of the guild hall, there was nothing she could do to clean up.

~I'll just have to come in early tomorrow,~ she thought to herself, carefully crossing to the door.

As she finally got to the door, she heard a familiar voice call out, "Mira! Are you going home?"

Mirajane blinked in surprise and turned around to see Freed standing about ten feet behind her. "Oh, hello, Freed," she said, "Yes, I was headed home. I thought everyone was asleep."

"Everyone but us, it seems," Freed said, stepping carefully over their fellow guild mates.

Mira looked at him, cocking her head to the side, "I looked all over for anyone that was awake. Where were you?"

Freed blushed faintly in embarrassment, "Um, I actually just woke up in the broom closet…"

Mira laughed, "Oh, Freed… you're so crazy sometimes."

Freed blushed heavier and glanced away, "Well, we are Fairy Tail, after all. What did you expect?"

Mira shrugged happily, "Nothing less then insanity."

Finally, Freed reached the front door. He opened it, and held it open for her. With a beam, she crossed the threshold. After he had followed, she closed the door and locked it behind her.

"Are you sure that that is a good idea? What if someone wakes up and wants to get out? They'll be locked in," Freed said, brow furrowing.

Mira shook her head with a faint smile, "Not a single person inside that guild hall will be awake before I get here in the morning. They never are."

"What do you mean, they never are?" Freed asked as they finally started exiting the Fairy Tail guild hall courtyard.

Mira blinked in confusion, then nodded in understanding, "Oh, you are always drunk when it happens, too. After a party like this, they'll be passed out for a good eight hours. Eight hours from now is ten in the morning, and I'm always here by six thirty."

Mira watched as Freed's eyes widened in shock, "Even after a party like this? That means you'll only get four and a half hours of sleep!"

Mira smiled gently at the shocked and slightly betrayed looking man, "I'm used to it. As you said earlier, 'we are Fairy Tail, after all.'"

Freed stared at her with slight awe on his face, "Well, sure, we're Fairy Tail, but going about your day on only four hours of sleep is ridiculous, Mirajane. What if you hurt yourself because of exhaustion?"

Since Mira knew no one other then Freed was around, she let her smile drop, and she said sadly, "Freed, I typically don't get more then four hours of sleep, anyway. I'm perfectly fine."

"Why is that, Mira?" Freed asked her in return, "Why don't you get more then four hours of sleep a night?"

Mira looked at him, and by the look on his face, she could tell he had barely remembered that she was capable of making this expression: despair. Quietly, she whispered, "Because I have nightmares every night."

Freed looked at her in understanding, "Oh. If it means anything, even though I never talked to your sister, I still miss her presence in the guild hall. She was like a star in the darkness."

Mira smiled, "Thank you, Freed."

He turned to her with a serious expression on his face, "Although, if she was a star in the darkness that is Fairy Tail, then you have always been the moon."

Mira blushed, and a pleased smile grew on her face. She had had a faint crush on Freed since he had sealed away her magic for her almost two years ago. "T-Thank you, Freed," Mira said, looking at him from under her eyelashes.

They stopped at the intersection where they knew they would have to part ways to go to their own homes. For almost a minute, they stood there, until Freed said quietly, "Mirajane?"

"Yes," Mira asked, barely concealed excitement in her voice, "What is it, Freed?"

"I was wondering…" he started, glancing away from her, a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Yes," Mira leaned toward him, happiness on her face. ~Is… is he finally going to offer to walk me home…!? Is it finally happening!?~

"Um," Freed looked back at her, and his blush intensified, "Um, you, uh… um. You look… really beautiful, I guess."

"Oh," Mira said, and she could feel her face fall, even though she was struggling to keep her expression happy. She sighed out, "Thanks, Freed."

They stood there for another awkward minute, until, finally, Mirajane broke the silence by saying, "I, uh, guess I should be getting home…"

"Yeah…" Freed said.

It was another minute before both people turned and walked away, Mirajane towards her and Elfman's house, and Freed towards the apartment he shared with Bixlow.

~Oh, Freed… I know that one of the things I find endearing about you is how shy you are around me… but can you please hurry it up? I know that you are one to play the gentleman, so I know that you would feel strange if I asked you on a date… but can you _please _pluck up your courage soon?~

As she walked, she couldn't help but think of the first time she had had a real _talk _with Freed. They had been introduced, of course, before Lisanna died, but they had never really _talked _to each other. The first time she had talked to him was right after Lisanna… died… and right after her decision to ask him to seal away her magic…

_Mirajane sat at Lisanna's grave. It was nighttime, and no one knew she was here. She could not sleep. Ever since Lisanna's death, she could never sleep. She would lay there in her bed, and try, and try, and try, but she never fell asleep. Instead, she was plagued by the images of Lisanna dying, and all because of her. It was her, Mirajane's, fault that Lisanna died. No one's but hers. If she had just been smarter. If she had just gone by herself. If she had just taken the stupid Titania Erza. If she had just not taken the job. If she had just taken Natsu with her. If she had just tried to Take Over the beast herself, instead of letting Elfman do it. If she had just let Lisanna try to Take Over the beast. If she had just…_

_This was her life now. A mass of ifs and buts. 'If I had just done' this, and 'but if I had done' that. All of it was her fault. It was her fault that Lisanna was dead. And Lisanna was dead because she had overestimated her abilities. Lisanna was dead because Mirajane had taken her with. _

_Lisanna was dead because of her. Lisanna was dead because she had overestimated her magic power. _

_All of this stemmed from the fact that she was a terrible judge of how much magic power she had. All of this stemmed from the fact that she _was not strong enough to be S-Class.

_Mirajane had come to her decision._

"_Lisanna," she whispered, "I'm giving it up. I'm not going to be S-Class anymore."_

_She sighed to herself, "I know what you would say. You would say, 'But Mira-nee, how will you do that? You're still a mage, even if I'm… gone.'"_

_Mirajane looked up, "There is a Rune Mage in the guild. Did you know that? I don't think you two ever met. But I'm going to ask him to seal away my magic power, Lisanna. You were one of the two most important things to me, and I let you die…"_

_Mirajane stood up, "This is my punishment, Lisanna. Nothing is worth the chance that what happened to you will happen to somebody else I know and love. Like Elfman… or that stupid Titania. Or the Stripper. Or Macao. Or any of our guild mates."_

_Mirajane kissed her hand, "After the Rune Mage seals away my magic, my darkness, I will do my best to give them the love you would have given them, Lisanna. I'll give them your happiness, and your laugh, and your smile. I hope you don't mind that I'll have to do my best to borrow yours… I don't have one after this… but maybe… maybe the Rune Mage will be able to give me mine back…"_

"Ah, she's finally here," a voice Mirajane didn't recognize interrupted her reverie. She looked up in surprise to see four men, all shrouded in shadow standing in the alleyway she always took home.

"Can I help you?" Mira asked in confusion. She was pretty sure that she didn't know these men.

"Yeah," said a different one from earlier, "You are _the _Mirajane. Fairy Tail's Mirajane."

"Well, yeah," Mira said, a sinking feeling in her gut; she was pretty sure that she knew what was about to happen. And this time, she didn't have Elfman with her to scare off the attackers.

"Good. Wouldn't want to get the wrong one," a third voice came from the shadows.

Mira started carefully backing away, "Look, I'm not looking for any trouble. I'm just going to leave now, and we can all pretend that this never happened."

"That's not an option," a fourth voice came from behind her, right as she bumped into a tall, hard chest. Her eyes shot wide, ~There's a fifth one! Shit!~

Mirajane prepared to do the last thing she could do: scream and hope somebody heard her. She, along with the men, however, was shocked when instead of a wordless scream, she shrieked, "FREED!"

One of the men in front punched her in the face, and she felt her nose break with the force of the hit, "Shut up, Mirajane! We just want to have a little fun!"

"I don't think it counts as 'fun', unless both parties consent to it," Freed's dark and angry voice came from above them. Mira, along with the men looked up just in time to watch as Freed's boots hit the man in front of her squarely in the face. He fell to the ground, and Freed slashed with his rapier, hitting the man behind Mira. Quickly, the man released her, and Freed yanked her away.

"Freed, watch out!" she screamed, but knew he couldn't turn in time. Using Freed's turn towards her voice, she levered herself up high enough and kicked the man attacking Freed directly in the throat.

Their path was clear, now, and Freed hurried her out of it, leaving runes behind to trap her attackers.

At the end of the alleyway, she stopped suddenly, and burst into tears.

"Mira! Mira, are you okay!?" she heard as she collapsed at his feet.

**The **next morning, she opened bleary eyes and rolled over to look at her clock.

**9:34**

She sat up with a gasp, and quickly stood from her bed. In a rush she dressed, and ran to the door, where she pulled up short. Taped to the inside of her door, where she was sure to find it, was a note.

_**Mirajane- **_

_**I hope that you are okay. You most likely don't remember, but after you got attacked, you collapsed. I carried you home, and once I had lain you down on your bed, you clutched at me and asked me to stay. **_

_**Sorry if you didn't actually want me too, but you seemed so sincere.**_

_**You said that the guild members should wake up around ten, so I'm leaving now, at 9:30. Sleep well.**_

_**-Freed**_

_**P.S. Take better care of yourself, my lovely moon.**_

Mira blushed in happiness as she read the note.

"Thank you, Freed," she said, to no one at all, "Without you, I don't even know what would have happened."


	11. Chapter 11 Elfman

**A/N- Well, this chapter was hard… the ship is so obvious (to me at least) that I had forgotten how little canon material there was on them… I don't even want to think about what I'll do for Evergreen's chapter… -shudders-**

**Disclaimer- I do not have the ability to draw anything as complicated as Fairy Tail. So you can safely assume that I do not own it.**

Elfman sat around the campfire with his sisters, Mirajane and Lisanna, and Cana. It had been a long day of training, and he was tired.

They had returned from Tenroujima just two months ago, after having been gone for seven years. Missing seven years, laying around as time was frozen for you but continuing on for everyone else, was very strange. The world as he knew it was completely gone.

The world where Fairy Tail was on top, was the number one guild in Fiore.

The world where he was one of the strongest members of this guild.

The world where every mage in all of Fiore tried desperately to join them.

The world where he – and his guild mates – could be proud to say, "Why, yes, I am a Fairy Tail mage."

That world had disappeared over the seven years he – and the rest of the guild members on Tenroujima – was asleep. They had been dead to the world, and the world had moved on.

It was a strange feeling.

But Fairy Tail had come up with a plan to earn back their title, earn back their reputation, earn back their esteem.

And most of all, earn back their self-respect.

They would participate in the Grand Magic Games.

Two months ago, all the people who had been on Tenrou Island when Fairy Sphere had been cast had gone off to train. Laxus, Bixlow, Freed, and Ever had gone to the desert. Gajeel and Panther Lily had gone… who even knew where. Erza, Lucy, Wendy, Jet, Droy, Levy, Gray, Natsu, and Juvia had all gone to the beach.

And Elfman, Lisanna, Mirajane, and Cana had all gone to the mountains.

Cana was sitting around, drinking a barrel of beer. Elfman had no idea where she had gotten it, because when they had arrived two months ago she hadn't brought any beer with her, and they hadn't left the mountains since. Lisanna had gone to take a nap before dinner, saying that she needed the rest after all the training they had done that day, and Elfman had agreed. If it had been manlier, _he _would have gone to take a nap, but then he couldn't say that he was a real man.

Mira was cooking, humming a tune to herself and beaming happily. She had been extremely happy ever since they had arrived in the mountains, but she was happier tonight then she had been the whole time they had been there. But Elfman was growing very concerned. She was making _way _too much food for them…

"Nechan?" Elfman eventually asked as he watched her cook, "I really don't think the four of us can eat that much food. It will go bad soon out here."

Mira smiled at him with excitement on her face, "Who ever said I was only cooking for the four of us?"

Elfman furrowed his brow, "But Nechan, who else would you be cooking for?"

"Us of course," came the slightly cool, slightly annoyed tone of his partner for the S-Class exam, Evergreen.

Elfman looked up in surprised happiness, "Ever! It's manly to surprise people!"

Evergreen lightly smacked him in the head with her fan, "I'm not trying to be manly, you idiot! I'm a woman!"

Elfman sighed, "I know that you're a woman. I was just trying to compliment you, jeez."

Evergreen sat next to him as the other two members of the Raijinshuu and Laxus filed into the area. Laxus went and sat next to Cana, Freed went to assist Mira, and Bixlow said he was going to go check on Lisanna.

"Well, thanks," Ever said finally, after a couple minutes of silence.

They sat there for another minute or two before Evergreen yelled out, "Hey, Mira, how long until dinner is ready?"

"Um, a half an hour?" Mira guessed, "Why?"

"I was thinking about taking a walk," Evergreen said.

She and Mira exchanged a loaded look that Elfman couldn't even _begin _to interpret when Mira replied, "Okay. But take Elfman with you."

Ever nodded as she stood up and gestured towards the edge of camp, "Well, come on then."

Elfman stood and followed Evergreen. As they walked, it became quite apparent to him that Ever wanted to talk to him about something, but was unsure how to go about it. He knew that saying it was manly to just say what she was thinking would cause her to get angry and stomp back to camp in a huff, so he decided to wait patiently for her to feel comfortable saying whatever it was.

As he waited, he was unable to stop himself from thinking about the beautiful brunette walking next to him. There had been a time, a few years ago – for him at least –, when he and Evergreen had been close friends. Laxus and Cana had been close at the time, too. Elfman suspected they were a little closer then close, and even if he didn't think it was manly to pretend to only be best friends with your girlfriend, he could understand why Laxus and Cana would have chosen to hide their relationship. But after what he assumed to be Laxus and Cana's break up, Evergreen and the rest of the Raijinshuu had withdrawn within themselves, farther and farther, until he barely recognized the girl who had once been one of his closest friends. After Laxus's excommunication, and Evergreen's subsequent apology, he and Ever had reconnected, and became friends again. And sure, he had been a little scared when she 'offered' to be his partner for the S-Class exam, but he was glad she had.

Because it was during the S-Class trial that he had realized that he did not want to be her friend. He wanted to be the man in her life. But he knew that Evergreen would never allow that. She was far to independent, and besides, she didn't like him that way.

He never really understood why they were friends, if so many of the things he did either annoyed or angered her.

He was trying to woo her anyway, but whenever he tried to compliment her, she always yelled at him, saying she wasn't a man.

As if he didn't know _that!_

He remembered the very first time he had tried to compliment her after they had returned from Tenrou Island… _that _hadn't gone well…

_Elfman – along with Laxus, Freed, and Bixlow – was sitting outside the changing booth, waiting for the girls to come out. The four girls had decided to drag them to the beach, saying that they simply _had _to go swimming after being on Tenrou for the past seven years. Lisanna had invited Natsu to go with them, but he had said that Happy and he were going fishing._

_The girls had been in there for almost twenty minutes when Laxus finally stormed over to the changing room._

"_Listen up, ladies. If you aren't out here in two minutes, we're coming in there. I'm not waiting any longer!" he yelled._

"_Shut up, Laxus," Cana yelled from inside, "It takes quite a long time to do this, you know. When you want to trade bodies, just tell me!"_

"_What could possibly take that long?" Bixlow asked the other guys._

"_What?" "Take so long." "Forever." "Don't like waiting." "Too long, too long." chorused his babies._

_The other guys shrugged helplessly, and finally, the four girls walked out in bikinis._

"_Too answer your question," Lisanna said, "It takes a long time to make sure you have everything covered. It's not like there is a lot of extra fabric to make sure you're covered up or anything."_

"_It's true," Mira giggled. At the sight of her, Freed's face turned bright red._

_Elfman's eyes, however, were stuck on Evergreen. She was wearing black bikini with ruffles on the edges. The ruffles were small, and lime green._

"_W-Wow, Ever," he said, and he was pretty sure he felt his face heating up. If it was red, he would just pretend that he had a sunburn, "You look… really nice."_

_Evergreen started to smile at him – that is, until he finished his compliment, "Very manly!"_

_Her eye twitched and she smacked him on his shoulder, "I'm not trying to be manly, Elfman! I'm a woman!"_

"Hello? Earth to Elfman! Are you in there?" he heard Evergreen's annoyed tone.

He looked at her, and saw that she was… past annoyed. She was angry.

~Uh oh…~ he thought to himself at the sight of her face.

She crossed her arms underneath her breasts, "Did you even hear anything I just said?"

Elfman swallowed convulsively, desperately trying to come up with a better response then 'no', "Um…"

"Ugh!" Evergreen yelled, throwing her hands up in the air with annoyance, "I can't believe this! I drag you out into the woods all alone so that I can finally gather up my courage and tell you that I like you, and you _don't even pay attention! _This is bullshit! I've been trying to do this since we got back, and-"

Elfman covered her mouth with his, effectively shutting up her stream of angry words. Evergreen tensed when his lips touched hers, but after a split second, he could feel her melting into him. Their lips moved together for only a minute or so, but when he pulled away, Evergreen had a look of pleased calmness in her eyes.

"Huh…" she said, a goofy grin on her face, and Elfman could feel an answering grin on his, "I knew that there was a reason I wanted to kiss you."

Elfman felt his grin grow wider, "I am a very manly kisser."

For once, Evergreen didn't yell at him for saying something was manly. Instead, she absently patted his chest with one hand while straightening her glasses with the other, "Hm? Oh yeah, sure, whatever you say."

Seeing his opportunity and seizing it, he asked, "Hey, Ever, do you want to go on a date with me when we get back to Magnolia?"

"Sure, sure, Elfman," she said. Her eyes widened with shock, "Wait, WHAT!?"

Elfman laughed, "Too late, you already agreed! Backing out on your agreements isn't manly at all."

Evergreen scowled at him, and turned her head to the side, "I'm only doing this because you tricked me."

But Elfman could see the pleased flush on her cheeks, and the happiness in her eyes.

Evergreen started heading back to camp, but Elfman grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"What?" she asked, slight annoyance back in her voice.

Elfman pulled her towards him and kissed her again, and just like last time, she tensed slightly before melting into him and the kiss. When he pulled away this time, she opened her pleased eyes once again, before asking with a tranquil tone, "What was that for?"

Elfman smiled at her, "I knew that you wouldn't want me to kiss you goodnight in front of everyone else, so I thought I would do it right now."

"Oh," Evergreen said, looking away from him, "Okay."

This time when Evergreen started walking towards camp, Elfman walked with her. They arrived back at camp just as Mira was starting to hand out dinner, and Elfman smiled.

~Perfect timing.~

They sat down and ate, Elfman recalled when he had decided to become a man.

"_Listen, Elfman," he heard Evergreen say from above him. He looked up at her, and she turned the closest thing she had to a compassionate tone on him, "I know that you feel bad for what happened to Lisanna, but it's not your fault. You think you aren't strong enough? Then get stronger. Fight to become more then you are. Fight past this, Elfman, because what you are doing right now isn't helping you, and it isn't going to bring Lisanna back."_

_She smacked him lightly on the head to emphasize what she was saying before bending over slightly and looking him straight in the eyes._

"_If you want to 'make up' for what you did to Lisanna, then you better become a real man and do it."_

Elfman glanced over at Evergreen as he ate, and mentally thanked the girl who – while not quite his girlfriend, was much closer then he had ever thought he would have her, ~Thanks, Evergreen. I know you don't like it when I call you a real man, but you are the one who showed me how to be one.~

Suddenly, Ever smacked him.

"What was that for?" he whined.

Evergreen glared at him, "I just had the sudden feeling that you were thinking something about me being a 'real man'."

~Scary…~


	12. Happy New Year

Hey!

So, my Great Month Of Stories didn't exactly work out. But it's all knowledge for next time! If I do a next time...

Anyway, I just want to take the time to say some things to you guys. You guys are awesome. You have made my life and year beautiful and exciting. You inspired me and showed me my limits.

When I used to wake up in the morning, I didn't really look forward to much, but now I look forward to a day of emails and PMs and reviews. I look forward to talking to you guys and ranting with you guys and making fake plans to go punch Hiro Mashima in the face for doing this to us.

You guys make my days. And every time I get an email saying someone favorited one of my stories, I get this big goofy grin on my face.

You guys really mean a lot to me. You encourage and inspire me to keep writing and to keep going. You guys have taught me so much. And I sincerely love each and every one of you. Even the lurkers that never review.

To date, I've published 132,401 words in 21 stories, and received a total of 341 reviews. I've only been a member since June (has it truly been that long?), but I know I love it here.

You guys are truly my nakama, and that's how I think of you all. You guys are really amazing, and I love you all.

Lets hope for another amazing year.

My New Year's resolution was to have published 350,000 words by the end of 2013. So that means I have to publish 217,599 words this year. Lets see how I do!

I hope you all had an awesome holiday season and continue having a great year!

My holiday themed oneshots will be out in the next couple of days, although the chapters for already published stories will just have to wait since school is back in session on the third.

I love you all!

No matter how far away you are... no matter how many miles lay between us... I'll always be watching over you. Index fingers up, my sweet nakama!

~HeirToTheShadows


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